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MIS  OF  LINCOLN 


BYMOLLIE  C  WINCHESTER 


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LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


Oft -Told  Tales  of  Lincoln 


OFT-  TOLD 
TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

BY  M0LL1E  C.  WINCHESTER 
AUTHOR  OF   "AFRICAN    SKIN  COAT  ETC. 


BRAKINGS  BY     MARGUERITE   M.  JONES 

PUBLISHERS 

ALBERT    WHITMAN   AND  COMPANY 


CHICAGO— 


OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

Copyright  1928 
By  Albert  Whitman  &  Company 


> — 


Cabin  at  Nolin  Creek,  Kentucky 
Where  Lincoln  Was  Bom 


OTHER  TITLES 

THE  MAGIC  HOUSE 

By  Louise  Harvey  Buttler 

THE  JOLLY  LITTLE  CLOWN 

By  Eleanor  Fairchild  Pease 

RED  AND  GOLD  STORIES 

By  Frances  Kerr  Cook 


"Just  Right  Book" 
Printed  in  the  U.  S.  A. 


To  SMy  'Dear  SMother 
€sther  White  Chadwick 


The  Lincoln  Monument  at  Springfield 


Dates  In  Lincoln's  Life 


February  12,  1809— Born  in  Kentucky. 

1816 — Moved  to  Indiana. 

1818 — His  mother,  Nancy  Hanks  Lincoln,  died. 

1828 — Abraham  Lincoln  goes  to  New  Orleans. 

1830 — Moved  from  Indiana  to  Illinois. 

1831 — Second  trip  to  New  Orleans;  sees  horrors  of  slavery. 

1832 — Captain  in  the  Black  Hawk  War. 

1833 — Postmaster  at  New  Salem. 

1834  to  1840— Member  of  Legislature. 

1835 — Lawyer  in  New  Salem,  Illinois. 

1846 — A  member  of  Congress. 

1854 — Speech-making  on  the  Missouri  Compromise  and  on  Slavery. 

1860 — Nominated  for  the  Presidency  and  elected. 

1861 — Inaugurated. 

1861 — Calls  for  75,000  men  to  put  down  southern  "rebellion." 

1862 — Offers  pecuniary  aid  to  states  that  would  abolish  slavery. 

1863 — Issues   the  "Emancipation   Proclamation"   freeing   slaves. 

1863 — Gettysburg  dedication  speech. 

1864 — Elected  for  second  term  as  President. 

April  14,  1865— Shot  by  John  Wilkes  Booth  in  Ford's  Theater,  Washington. 

April  15,  1865— Died  in  Washington,  D.  C. 


Foreword  to  Every  Reader 

More  than  three  thousand  volumes  have 
been  written  about  the  life  and  work  of 
Abraham  Lincoln.  He  has  taken,  in  our 
modern  world,  the  place  of  the  heroes  of 
ancient  epics  and  legends:  he  is  our  Beowulf, 
our  Charlemagne,  our  King  Arthur;  in  a 
word,  he  is  our  national  hero. 

So  much  has  been  written  that  the  folly 
of  attempting  a  new,  or  even  an  original 
interpretation  of  the  old,  is  evident.  We 
make  no  such  pretense,  but  instead  gratefully 
acknowledge  indebtedness  to  many  sources 
from  which  we  have  taken  those  authentic 
episodes  in  the  childhood  and  youth  of  Abra- 
ham  Lincoln,  which  foreshadowed  his  con- 
duct during  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil  War. 
We  have  tried  to  trace,  in  the  boy  Lincoln, 
those  latent  characteristics   which   when 


developed  gave  us  the  greatest  leader  and 
man  our  country  has  known. 

For  example:  in  the  tale  of  the  hungry 
soldier,  to  whom  Abe  gave  his  prize  fish, 
there  is  evident  the  same  spirit  of  kindliness 
which  prompted  President  Lincoln  to  par- 
don so  many  unfortunate  soldiers  during  the 
long  war.  The  moral  strength,  {facing  a  hos- 
tile opinion),  shown  in  the  turtle  story  again 
finds  a  larger  expression  in  the  tale  of  the 
old  Black  Hawk  Indian.  Still  later,  we  find 
it  with  an  added  magnanimity  in  those 
immortal  words:  "With  malice  toward  none, 
with  charity  for  all.  .  .  ." 

Far  back  in  the  pumpkin  seed  planting  we 
find  the  planting  also  of  that  cheerful  perse- 
verance which  urged  the  slow  smile  when 
the  heart  was  broken,  discouraged,  bearing 
a  nations  woe.  And  of  all  the  stories  we 
have  known  of  his  human-understanding,  of 
his  quick  sense  of  humor,  what  could  be 
more  illustrative  than  his  own  fable,  "The 
bear-hunt"?  This  is  a  product  of  Lincoln's 
own  imagination:  he  wrote  it  in  ballad-form, 
and  although  we  have  carried  it  over  into 
the  story-form  we  have  held  to  the  spirit  of 


Lincoln  s  ballad.  For  in  this  fable  is  clearly 
shown  the  same  understanding  of  humans 
{and  animals)  which  untangled  amicably 
the  many  difficult  situations  during  those 
trying  meetings  with  his  refractory  cabinet. 
So,  throughout  the  book,  the  parent  will 
find  accent  placed  on  childhood  virtues — the 
virtues  that  any  child  might  imitate.  The 
years  of  accomplishment  have  been  sum- 
marized as  briefly  as  possible,  that  we  might 
trace  "the  footprints  on  the  sands"  of  youth 
which  portray  the  unfolding  of  a  noble  char- 
acter: first  "Abe";  "Honest  Abe";  then 
Lawyer  Abraham  Lincoln;  and  so  on  until 
we  have  President  Lincoln,  noble  martyr. 


10 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Foreword    7 

Abe's   First   Gift    (Thoughtfulness) 15 

Indians   on  the  Warpath    (Historical   Lore) 23 

Planting  Seeds  and  Character  (Learning  to  Face  Adversity) 37 

The  Magic  Rock   (Adventure) 48 

The  Hungry  Soldier  (Kindness  to  the  Needy) 59 

Blazing  a  Trail   to   Pigeon  Creek    (Learning   Hardship) 66 

Making  Candles    (Patience) 76 

Neighbors   (Companionableness) 81 

The  Bear  Hunt  (Adapted  from  a  Ballad  Written  by  Abraham  Lincoln) . .  86 

Abe  Lincoln's  First  Letter  (Reverence  and  Religion) 100 

The  Broken  Deer  Horn  (Truthfulness) 107 

Abe's  Education    (Love  of  Information) 110 

"God's  Creatures,  Great  and  Small"   (Defender  of  the  Weak) 121 

Abe  at  Mischief  (Love  of  Fun) 130 

Abe's  Own  Dollar  (Thrift) 133 

Abe  a  Salesman   (Ambition) 138 

Abe  a  Man  (Independence) 145 

11 


CONTENTS—  ( Continued ) 

Page 

Abe  Knows  Success 152 

The   Springfield   Lawyer 162 

Congressman    Lincoln 167 

The  Civil  War 171 

"With  Malice  Toward  None" 178 

Gettysburg    Speech 181 

A  Second  Term 185 

The   Martyr 188 


*  / 


12 


LIST  OF  FULL  PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

Frontispiece    2 

Lincoln's  Birthplace  As  It  Looked  in  1924 14 

Little  Tom  Was  Left  In  the  Fields  at  the  Side  of  His  Father 29 

Abe  Was  Off  the  Slippery  Log 55 

Sarah  and  Abe  Sat  High  on  the  Horses'  Backs 69 

The  Bear  Made  a  Rush  Forward  at  the  Handicapped  Horse 93 

He  Spent  All  the  Time  He  Could  Spare  From  His  Work  in  Reading 

and    Studying Ill 

Thus  Abe  Earned  the  Book  He  Loved  So  Well 117 

The  Men  Were  Sculled  Out  to  the  Big  Boat  Which  Was  Waiting  for  Them  135 

They  Had  Come  to  a  Slave-market 149 

He  Went  Many  Miles  to  Deliver  the  Package  of  Tea 153 

Springfield  in  the  Days  of  Lincoln 163 

He  Continued  to  Go  Into  the  Camps  to  Talk  to  the  Soldiers 173 

"Four  Score  and  Seven  Years  Ago  Our  Fathers — " 183 

13 


Abe's  First  Gift 

(Thoughtfulness) 

"If  Mother  does  not  get  home  before  it  is 
dark  we  must  pile  brush-wood  and  twigs  on 
the  fire  so  they  will  blaze  high  and  show 
Mother  her  way  through  the  black  woods," 
said  Sarah  Lincoln.  Although  she  was  only 
six  she  had  been  left  in  charge  of  her  four- 
year-old  brother,  Abe  Lincoln,  and  of  the 
tiny  log-cabin  which  was  their  home  away  off 
in  the  woods. 

"Yes,"  said  little  Abe,  looking  into  the 
heavy  brush  that  grew  close  to  the  cabin. 
"When  it  gets  darker  and  darker  we  must 
put  great  big  pieces  of  trees  on  the  fire  to 
scare  away  the  bears,  wolves,  wild-cats  and 
all  the  other  wild  animals." 

"Yes,"  answered  Sarah,  for  often  she  and 
Abe  had  seen  the  sharp,  terrible  teeth  and 
the  long,  fierce  claws  of  the  wild  animals  that 
their  father  shot  in  the  forest  and  brought 
home  as  food  and  clothes  for  his  family. 
Abe  and  Sarah  wore  shoes  made  from  the 

15 


16  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

soft  deer-skin.  Abe's  coat  and  pants  and 
hat  were  made  from  the  skins  of  the  animals 
that  had  been  caught  in  the  forest  near  at 
hand.  At  night  they  snuggled  down  warm 
and  snug  under  a  bear-skin  for  a  blanket, 
and  before  they  went  to  sleep  they  heard  the 
wolves  howling  nearer  and  nearer  the  little 
log-cabin. 

But  Sarah  was  not  thinking  of  the  animals 
now.  She  was  putting  more  wood  on  the  fire 
under  the  big  kettle,  which  hung  on  four  long 
poles  out  in  the  open  space  in  front  of  their 
home.  Her  mother  had  told  her  to  keep  a 
small  fire  under  the  kettle  so  that  the  maple- 
syrup  would  cook  slowly  while  she  was  away 
in  the  next  settlement  where  Abe's  cousins 
lived.  But  Sarah  had  put  too  much  wood 
under  the  big,  iron-kettle,  which  was  almost 
as  big  as  Sarah  herself,  and  now  the  maple- 
syrup  began  to  bubble  high  up  in  the  kettle. 

"Quick,  Abe!  The  maple-syrup  is  boiling 
over!"  called  Sarah.  "Get  the  long  cedar- 
stick,  or  the  syrup  will  boil  over  the  side  of 
the  pot  and  then  there  won't  be  enough  for 
Mother  to  make  us  good  things." 


ABE'S  FIRST  GIFT  17 


Sarah  took  the  stick  that  her  brother  had 
brought  and  gripping  it  fast  in  two  hands, 
she  stirred  hard  and  long.  But  still  the 
syrup  boiled  up  and  over  the  side  of  the  ket- 
tle, and  dripped  down  onto  the  wood  at  the 
edge  of  the  fire.  Abe  caught  some  on  a  clean 
stick  and  blew  it  until  it  began  to  cool.  Then 
he  licked  the  long,  sugary  strings  that 
dropped  on  all  sides.  Sarah  stood  above  him 
licking  the  sweet  syrup  from  the  cedar-stick. 
When  that  was  done  she  sat  on  the  ground 
alongside  of  Abe  and  they  took  turns  catch- 
ing the  sizzling  syrup  on  their  sticks,  as  it 
trickled  down  the  sides  of  the  big  kettle. 

"Yum,  yum,"  Sarah  said,  getting  a  big 
share. 

"Yum,  yum,"  said  her  little  brother,  twist- 
ing a  sugary  string  around  his  finger,  and 
greatly  enoying  the  fine  picnic  they  were 
having  all  by  themselves. 

But  suddenly  in  the  midst  of  the  fun  a  large 
hawk  flew  close  over  their  heads,  and  they 
remembered  that  night  was  coming  and 
many  things  must  be  done  before  their 
mother's  return. 


18  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

"I  will  tell  you  what  we  will  do,"  said 
Sarah,  clapping  her  hands  together  with 
delight.  "We  will  surprise  Mother.  I'll  pound 
the  corn  for  corn-dodgers.  And  you  get  the 
water  at  the  spring — not  too  full  though  for 
you  are  not  so  big  as  I  am  and  can  not  carry 
such  a  big  pail.  You  can  get  some  fire-wood, 
and  then  when  Mother  comes  home  she  will 
be  so  surprised  and  we  will  see  which  one 
of  us  can  surprise  her  most!" 

Abe  liked  the  idea.  He  seized  the  water- 
pail  and  ran  off,  down  the  grassy  path  into 
the  thick  woods.  Two  tiny  squirrels  scamp- 
ered across  the  way  as  he  ran  over  stones 
and  brush,  and  he  heard  some  larger  animal 
scrambling  to  the  safety  of  the  underbrush 
as  he  came  near.  But  he  did  not  stop; 
straight  to  the  spring  where  the  deer  came 
each  night,  he  went  with  his  pail.  He  sank 
it  deep  until  it  was  filled  and  was  turning  to 
go  back  to  the  cabin  when  he  spied  a  pretty 
yellow  bush  through  the  dark  trees.  He 
pulled  a  few  twigs — ah,  how  sweet  and  spicy 
it  was!  His  eyes  smiled;  he  was  thinking 
of  another  surprise  which  would  be  different 


ABE'S  FIRST  GIFT 


19 


The  Spring  Where  the  Deer  Came 


from  water  and  wood.  He  gathered  an  arm- 
ful of  the  spice-wood,  tied  them  with  a  long 
strand  of  dry  grass  and  carried  it  into  the 
clearing. 

Sarah  was  inside  the  cabin.  He  could  hear 
her  pounding  the  corn,  getting  it  ready  for 
the  cakes  that  his  mother  would  make  for 
their  supper  when  she  returned.  Quickly 
he  slipped  the  armful  of  yellow  spice-blos- 
soms under  the  wood  at  the  side  of  the  cabin 
and  then  took  the  water  in  to  Sarah. 

"Won't  Mother   be   surprised  when   she 


20  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

finds  the  corn  made  into  flour,  all  ready  for 
the  "dodgers',"  laughed  Sarah. 

"And  when  she  sees  the  water  in,  too," 
said  little  Abe. 

"But  best  of  all,  I'm  going  to  make  Mother 
a  new  turkey-feather  brush  for  the  hearth — " 

"Hark!" 

"It  is  Mother!  Galling  through  the 
woods!" 

Abe  and  Sarah  dropped  their  work  and 
ran  as  fast  as  they  could  down  the  path. 
How  happy  their  mother  was  to  be  back 
again,  but  happier  still  when  she  saw  the 
"surprises"  Abe  and  Sarah  had  planned  for 
her.  However  all  was  not  over  yet,  for  as 
she  stood  before  the  large  kettle  scooping 
up  the  hardening  sugar,  Abe  slipped  up 
behind  her  and  pressed  the  bunch  of  spice- 
wood  blossoms  under  her  arm. 

"Another  surprise,  Mother!"  laughed  Abe, 
watching  his  mother's  face.  She  was  sur- 
prised! 

His  mother  held  the  sweet-scented  blos- 
soms close  to  her  face,  "Ah,  lovely  spice- 
wood.    Why,  Abe,  that  is  the  best  surprise 


ABE'S  FIRST  GIFT 


21 


His  Mother  Held  the  Sweet-scented  Blossoms 
Close  to  Her  Face 


of  all,  for  now  we  can  have  a  bright,  spark- 
ling fire  at  the  big  chimney  indoors  tonight 
and  I  will  read  you  some  Bible  stories  or 
fables;' 

"Bible  stories,  please,  Mother,"  begged 
Abe. 

"No,  no  fables!"  coaxed  Sarah. 

"Both,"  said  Nancy  Lincoln,  the  children's 
mother.  "We  shall  have  both  kinds,  for  Abe 
brought  such  a  large  bunch  of  spice-wood 


22  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

that  a  bright  fire-light  will  last  for  a  long 
time.  I  shall  read  until  every  bit  of  wood  is 
burned  away,  and  there  is  not  a  bit  of  light 
left." 

"Oh  good!"  said  Sarah.  "Abe,  your  sur- 
prise was  the  very  best  after  all.  It  was  a 
surprise  for  everybody!" 

Nancy  Lincoln  let  her  fingers  run  through 
Abe's  unruly  brown  hair  and  smiled  down  at 
him.    He  was  her  own  fine  little  lad. 


^%, 


Indians  on  the  Warpath 

(Historical  Lore) 

"The  big  whale  swallowed  Jonah  down — 
'Gulp!'— like  that!  Now  there,"  said  Abe's 
mother,  "you  can  tell  the  rest  of  the  story 
from  there.  Sarah,  you  tell  it,  while  I  move 
my  spinning-wheel  nearer  to  the  fire.  Whew, 
the  wind  blows  so  hard  between  the  logs 
here,  that  it  almost  takes  the  shawl  off  my 
shoulders.  I  must  get  a  fresh  log  for  the 
fire,  and  afterwards  I'll  tell  the  story  of  the 
Indians  who  killed  your  grandfather." 

"Oh,  that  is  the  story  I  like  best,"  cried 
Sarah,  "the  story  about  the  wicked  Indian 
who  tried  to  steal  our  father  when  he  was  a 
little  tiny,  weeny  boy." 

"Yes,"  agreed  Abe,  "sometimes,  I  like  that 
story  best  too.  But  I  like  the  fables  almost 
best." 

Abe  and  Sarah  jumped  up  to  help  their 
mother  roll  the  heavy  log  away  back  into 
the  huge  fireplace.    Then  all  sat  down  close 

23 


24  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

to  the  warm  glow  to  hear  a  true  story  of 
Indians. 

"Once  upon  a  time,  not  so  many  years  ago, 
when  your  good  father  was  just  big  enough 
to  scamper  around  the  clearing,  there  were 
cruel,  blood-thirsty  Indians  in  the  forests, 
oh,  many,  many  Indians." 

"Right  here  in  Knob  Creek,  too?"  asked 
Sarah. 

"Yes,  around  here  and  around  everywhere 
in  Kentucky.  There  were  not  so  many  in 
Virginia  where  your  grandfather  came  from. 
But  when  Daniel  Boone,  that  brave  scout  of 
the  wilderness,  told  your  grandfather  that 
there  was  fine  soil  for  farming  down  in  Ken- 
tucky, but  also  many  bad  Indians,  your 
grandfather  did  not  care. 

"He  wanted  a  good  farm  where  he  could 
grow  corn  and  potatoes  to  feed  his  big  family. 
He  said  he  was  not  going  to  bother  the 
Indians  if  they  did  not  bother  him.  So  he 
packed  his  belongings  and  left  his  old  friends 
in  Virginia  to  come  down  to  the  wilderness 
in  Kentucky.  He  went  through  the  forest 
looking  for  a  good  spring,  near  which  he 


INDIANS  ON  THE   WARPATH 


25 


Where  He  Could  Build  His  Cabin 


could  build  his  cabin  and  make  a  farm.  He 
thought  the  Indians  would  not  bother  him 
because  he  was  kind  to  everyone,  Indian  and 
white  man  alike. 

"But  the  Indians  thought  the  white  men 
were  taking  all  the  game  in  the  forests  so 
they  hated  all  the  white  men,  good  and  bad. 
They  did  not  like  to  see  the  'paleface'  chop- 
ping down  the  trees  to  make  plowed  fields, 
either.  So  they  killed  him  whenever  they 
got  a  chance.  Of  course  there  was  enough 
game  in  the  wilderness  for  all,  Indian  and 
white  man;  but  the  redskin  did  not  believe 
so.    Besides  an  Indian  loves  to  fight.    . 


26  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


"One  morning  after  your  grandfather  had 
chopped  down  the  big  trees  around  his  log- 
cabin  and  planted  some  seeds  and  everything 
was  going  along  peacefully,  he  decided  to 
plow  up  a  little  more  ground  and  to  plant 
some  more  seeds.  Your  grandfather  was 
plowing  near  the  very  edge  of  the  dangerous 
forest.  He  called  to  his  sons  and  told  them 
to  go  off  into  a  field  that  had  many  stumps 
of  old  trees  in  it.  He  told  them  to  burn  all 
the  stumps  they  could  find  there.  They  went 
but  left  little  Tom,  your  own  father,  playing 
near  his  father  as  he  worked. 

"Everyone  was  very  busy  for  the  boys  all 
knew  that  if  the  crops  did  not  grow  they 
would  all  go  hungry  during  the  winter-time 
when  the  snow  was  deep  on  the  earth. 
There  was  not  a  sound  in  the  air  except  the 
glad  songs  of  the  birds  as  they  built  their 
nests  in  the  high  tree-tops.  No  one  thought 
of  Indians. 

"But  back  there  in  the  black  shadows  of 
the  forest  there  were  terrible,  sharp  eyes 
peering  out  through  the  brush.  Those  eyes 
were   cruel.     Like   panthers    the    redskins 


INDIANS  ON  THE  WARPATH  27 

moved  without  a  sound,  creeping  low,  sneak- 
ing through  the  fern  and  brush.  Their  skins 
were  the  color  of  the  rocks  and  ground; 
their  eyes  were  the  color  of  swift  arrows. 
Lower,  lower  they  crouched,  watching, 
creeping,  creeping,  watching,  nearer,  nearer 
to  the  men  who  were  working  so  peacefully 
in  the  fields. 

"Even  the  little  birds  in  the  trees  above 
went  quietly  about  their  work  for  it  was  a 
lovely  spring  day  and  no  one  even  thought 
of  danger  and  death.  A  twig  snapped  now 
and  then  under  the  soft,  deer-skin  moccasins. 
Snap!  it  sounded  through  the  forest  trees 
and  then  all  was  still  again.  Once,  when  a 
twig  snapped  your  grandfather  raised  his 
head  and  looked  uneasily  into  the  blackness 
of  the  woods  but  everything  was  quiet  again. 
He  could  not  see  the  many  black  eyes  that 
were  watching  him  from  the  heavy  under- 
brush. 

"Suddenly,  into  the  clearing  came  a  shot! 
The  forest  was  filled  with  wild,  'Whoop! 
Whoop!'  the  war-cry. 


28  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

"Every  white  man  and  woman  knew  that 
cry  and  knew  it  meant  death  at  the  hands  of 
the  savages.  Your  grandfather  Abraham 
(the  one  you  were  called  for,  Abe)  heard  it. 
But  before  he  could  move  from  his  plow  the 
redskins  were  rushing  across  the  fields  like 
a  pack  of  wolves,  and  were  upon  him  in  a 
flash.  He  fell,  killed  by  the  leader  of  the 
savage  band. 

"The  two  big  boys  ran  to  the  house  for  a 
gun  and  to  save  the  life  of  your  grandmother. 
Little  Tom,  your  own  father,  was  left  in  the 
fields  at  the  side  of  his  father.  He  did  not 
know  what  had  happened,  but  he  did  know 
that  his  father  must  not  be  left  alone  while 
the  Indians  were  running  around  the  field 
where  the  new  seeds  had  just  been  sown. 
He  was  very  frightened,  the  poor  little  fel- 
low, very  afraid  of  them  but  he  stayed  right 
there  at  his  father's  side.  Just  then  a  big, 
cruel  Indian  spied  the  baby  boy  and  ran  to 
grab  him. 

"  'Ugh!  A  good  papoose!  A  good  papoose!' 
said  the  redskin  and  stooped  to  pick  up  little 
Tom. 


Little  Tom  Was  Left  in  the  Fields  at  the  Side  of  His  Father 

29 


30  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

"But,  you  remember,  your  father's  big 
brothers  had  gone  to  the  house.  One  got  a 
gun  and  stayed  there,  but  the  other  brother 
ran  to  the  fort  for  help.  The  one  who  stayed 
there  to  take  care  of  his  mother  was  peeking 
between  the  cracks  of  the  logs  of  the  cabin 
and  saw  the  Indian  just  as  he  was  ready  to 
carry  off  Tom.  Quick  as  a  wink  he  pushed 
his  gun  through  the  hole  in  the  wall  and, 
'bang!  bang!'  the  Indian  dropped  little  Tom 
and  fell  to  the  ground.  As  the  big  Indian 
rolled  into  the  furrows  the  brave  little  man 
scrambled  to  his  feet  and  ran  as  fast  as  he 
could  to  the  house. 

"Now  more  Indians  were  swarming  out 
of  the  forest,  for  they  saw  their  leader  fall, 
and  they  planned  to  kill  everyone  in  the  log- 
cabin  in  revenge.  So,  off  they  dashed  after 
poor  little  Tom.  But  he  ran  fast,  faster, 
faster.  His  little  legs  were  so  short,  and  the 
furrows  were  so  deep.  He  kept  stumbling 
in  the  soft  earth,  but  now  he  was  almost  to 
the  house.  Faster  he  went,  for  he  heard  a 
Redskin  coming  behind,  close  behind  him. 
Faster  he  went.  At  last!  His  mother  opened 


INDIANS  ON  THE   WARPATH  31 

the  door  and  snatched  him  inside,  just  as  the 
savage  was  ready  to  grab  him." 

"Oh,  oh,"  cried  Sarah  as  she  cuddled  up 
close  to  her  mother's  knee,  "Indians  are 
terrible!" 

"Hush,  Sarah,"  warned  Abe,  who  was 
listening  with  wide-open  eyes.  "Go  on, 
Mother,  tell  us  the  rest." 

"Well,  the  Indians  knew  there  was  only 
one  big  boy  in  that  cabin.  One  of  them 
sneaked  close  and  crawled  around  to  the 
front  door  of  the  cabin.  He  was  going  to 
chop  it  down  with  his  sharp  tomahawk.  He 
got  close  to  the  big  door,  crouching  low. 
Then  he  raised  his  tomahawk  high  with  a 
war-cry  and  jumped  up,  ready  for  the  crash, 
but  the  boy  inside  was  too  quick  for  him. 

"'Bang!  Bang!'  barked  the  gun5  and  the 
smoke  curled  from  inside  of  the  cabin,  out 
between  two  logs  in  the  wall  near  the  door. 
The  Indian  fell. 

"Again  and  again,  the  Indians  tried  to 
chop  that  door;  but  again  and  again  the 
young  boy  frightened  them  off.  So,  at  last 
when  they  saw  there  was  no  chance  of  get- 


32  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

ting  scalps  that  way,  they  went  off  together 
to  the  woods  to  plan  what  they  would  do 
next. 

"Little  Tom  and  his  mother  and  big,  brave 
brother  watched  them  from  a  tiny  crack 
between  the  logs  of  the  cabin.  What  new 
attempt  were  the  Redskins  planning?  What 
was  keeping  the  brother  who  had  gone  to 
the  fort  for  help?  Was  he  killed  by  the 
Indians  while  on  the  way?  Did  some  Indian 
jump  out  of  the  bushes  along  the  forest-path 
and  kill  him  with  a  heavy  tomahawk  before 
he  could  reach  the  fort  and  bring  help? 
Would  help  never  come?  Must  Little  Tom, 
and  his  mother  and  brother  die  together 
just  as  their  father  had  died  in  the  newly 
plowed  field?  All  such  questions  and  many 
like  them  the  three  prisoners  in  the  log- 
cabin  asked  themselves.  But  now  the  Indians 
were  moving  around  again.  They  had  made 
some  plan  and  were  hurrying  to  carry  it 
out.  No  doubt  it  was  a  wicked  one. 

"Some  had  gone  into  the  woods  out  of 
sight.  Now  they  came  back  bringing  great 
bundles  of  brush,  dry  leaves  and  other  fire- 


INDIANS  ON  THE  WARPATH  33 

wood.  They  piled  it  all  up  around  the  back 
and  sides  of  the  cabin,  but  they  didn't  go 
near  the  front  door  for  they  remembered 
how  the  gun  had  barked  out  from  just  beside 
the  door,  and  how  an  Indian  brave  had  fallen 
and  failed  to  chop  down  that  heavy  door. 
So  they  ran  back  into  the  forest  for  more 
brush  and  more  and  more.  They  piled  it 
higher  and  higher.  They  were  going  to  burn 
the  cabin  down  to  the  ground  with  your 
grandmother,  your  uncle  and  little  Tom, 
inside." 

"Oh,  I  wish  I  was  big  then,"  said  Sarah, 
"I  would  help  Grandmother  scare  those  bad 
Redskins  away.  I  would  not  let  them  burn 
her  up!" 

"Girls  can  not  kill  Indians,"  teased  little 
Abe  Lincoln. 

"No,"  said  Abe's  mother,  "Indians  are 
very  hard  to  scare.  Your  grandmother  knew 
of  many  neighbors  whose  cabins,  with  every- 
one inside  had  been  burned  down  to  the 
ground.  Nothing  left  but  a  pile  of  charcoal. 
And  she  knew  how  the  Indians  had  always 
killed  anyone  who  tried  to  run  out  of  the 


34 OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

house  while  it  was  blazing.  Now  the  Indians 
had  piled  the  brush  and  dry  wood  as  high 
as  they  could  reach.  They  were  yelling  and 
howling  more  fiercely  than  ever.  Your 
grandmother  pushed  Little  Tom  back  of  her 
and  she  looked  anxiously  up  the  path  where 
her  other  son  had  gone  for  help,  but  there 
was  no  one  on  the  forest-road  but  wild-eyed 
Indians. 

"She  saw  that  they  were  ready  to  light  the 
fire,  to  burn  the  cabin  down.  One  old  fellow 
had  a  piece  of  flint.  He  was  trying  to  strike 
a  spark  in  the  dry  leaves.  Twice  he  got  a 
spark  but  it  did  not  catch.  The  rest  of  the 
Indians  kept  jumping  and  yelling  and  whoop- 
ing up  a  war-dance.  Around,  and  around 
they  went  in  a  big  circle,  shrieking,  whoop- 
ing, getting  their  knives  ready  to  take  three 
scalps  when  the  three  people  in  the  cabin 
would  open  the  door  and  try  to  run  out  of 
the  roasting  fire. 

"No  help  was  near.  Your  grandmother 
stood  at  the  tiny  hole  through  which  she 
could  see  the  path  where  help  would  come, 
but  only  Indians  were  running  to  and  fro. 


INDIANS  ON  THE   WARPATH  35 

Would  the  people  never  get  there  from  the 
fort?  In  a  few  minutes  it  would  be  too  late 
for  anyone  to  help. 

"The  war-whoops  outside  grew  more  ter- 
rible every  second  and  then — suddenly  they 
stopped!  Quick,  as  a  flash  the  dance  had 
ended.  The  Redskins  were  grabbing  up  their 
knives  and  tomahawks.  They  were  scatter- 
ing in  all  directions,  some  across  the  new 
furrows  of  the  fields,  some  down  the  deer- 
trail,  all  leaping  like  rabbits  to  cover,  into 
the  woods. 

"On  the  other  side  of  the  cabin  many  brave 
white  men  were  pounding  down  the  hill  from 
the  fort.  Help  had  come  at  last!  The  men 
and  your  uncle  who  had  gone  to  the  fort 
were  out  of  breath  but  they  did  not  stop. 
They  chased  the  blood-thirsty  Indians 
through  brush  and  brambles;  but  when 
they  got  into  the  deep  forest  not  an  Indian 
could  they  find.  The  wild  savages  know  the 
hiding-places  in  the  wilderness  better  than 
the  animals  that  live  there.  So,  the  men 
gave  up  the  chase,  and  came  back  to  help 
the  family  in  the  cabin." 


36  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

"And  they  never  caught  any  of  the  Indians 
who  killed  my  grandfather!  That  is  too 
bad,"  sighed  Sarah. 

"But  our  father  was  saved,  Sarah,  and  that 
was  good,"  replied  Abe,  as  he  tossed  a  hand- 
ful of  spice-wood  into  the  big,  hungry  mouth 
of  the  fire-place.  Then  he  sat  back  in  the 
shadows,  musing,  quiet,  watching  the  sparks 
dart  like  little  fairy-creatures,  dancing,  skip- 
ping, swirling,  upward  into  the  black  chim- 
ney, up  and  out,  into  the  star-flecked  sky  far, 
far  away. 


Planting  Seeds  and  Character 

(Learning  to  Face  Adversity) 

Abe  was  not  quite  sure  whether  he  was 
asleep  or  awake.  He  dreamed  that  a  swarm 
of  bright  yellow  honey-bees  with  golden 
wings,  were  busily  buzzing  inside  the  cabin 
making  a  fine  mess  of  clover-honey  in  the 
log-wall  at  the  side  of  his  bed.  How  lucky 
to  have  wild-honey  right  near  one's  bed.  Abe 
thought  he  was  dreaming  so  he  sat  up 
straight  on  the  pile  of  dry  leaves  that  was  his 
bed,  and  listened.  Yes,  there  was  that  same 
lulling  "buzz,  buzz,  buzz,"  but  now  he  was 
sure.  He  had  been  dreaming,  for  the  buzz- 
ing came  from  his  mother's  spinning-wheel 
as  she  sat  in  the  door-way  spinning  in  the 
early  morning  light.  She  was  making  long 
strands  of  yarn  that  would  soon  be  made  into 
linsey-woolsey  for  Abe's  shirts. 

"Gome  Abe!"  she  called  as  she  heard  him 
turning  over  in  the  rustling  leaves.    "Come 

37 


38  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

Sarah!  Jump  up,  like  good  children.  Your 
father  has  gone  hunting  to  get  a  partridge  for 
breakfast.  He  will  soon  be  back,  and  you 
know  he  will  want  everyone  to  be  ready  to 
help  plant  the  seeds  as  soon  as  breakfast  is 
over." 

"O-o-o-o-o,"  yawned  Sarah  as  she  drew  the 
deer-skin  blanket  over  her  feet.  "I  see  the 
sun  from  here  and  it  is  a  big  red  ball.  That 
means  rain.  I  guess  we  won't  be  able  to 
plant  seeds  to-day." 

"Sarah,  Sarah,"  said  her  mother  laugh- 
ingly, "what  a  child  you  are — always  finding 


excuses." 


"But,"  said  Sarah  firmly,  "I  heard  Father 
say,  'Red  sun  in  the  morning,  sailors  take 
warning/  and  he  said,  'That  means  rain.'  " 

"Right  you  are,  Sarah,"  agreed  her  mother 
kindly,  "but  rain  is  what  we  want.  If  the 
seeds  are  planted  before  the  rain,  they  will 
get  a  good  soaking  and  will  sprout  sooner. 
Gome  now,  Sarah,  don't  think  up  any  more 
excuses;  your  father  will  soon  be  home." 

"Maybe  he  will  bring  a  fat  turkey  and  a 
big  rabbit,  or  a  bear  for  breakfast,"  Abe  sur- 


PLANTING  SEEDS  AND  CHARACTER 


39 


mised  as  he  sat  on  the  long-pole  which  was 
the  edge  of  his  bed. 

"Ha,  ha!"  Sarah  laughed,  and  threw  a  bit 
of  mud-mortar  at  him. 

Abe  rushed  over  and  soon  the  playful 
wrestling  sent  them  both  sprawling  on  the 
hard  dirt-floor. 

"Children!  Children!"  called  their  mother. 
"Sarah,  what  are  you  doing?" 

"Well,  Abe  guesses  that  we  will  have  a 
bear  for  breakfast,"  continued  Sarah,  mak- 
ing a  wry  face  at  her  little  brother,  "but  I 
think  maybe  we  will  have  a  fat  raccoon. 
Then  Abe  will  have  a  new  hat  from  the  skin, 


40  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

with  a  fine,  fat  tail  hanging  down  the  back." 

Just  then  they  heard  their  father's  whistle 
across  the  clearing  and  both  children  rushed 
to  finish  dressing. 

"Seeds  to  be  planted  right  after  breakfast," 
he  called  as  he  swung  down  two  jack-rabbits 
from  the  end  of  his  long  gun. 

Sarah  put  more  wood  on  the  out-door  fire 
which  was  blazing  before  the  cabin,  and 
turned  the  corn-dodgers  so  that  they  would 
cook  on  all  sides.  Abe  put  the  cedar-chips 
on  the  table,  which  were  their  only  plates. 
Their  father  skinned  the  rabbits  and  their 
mother  put  them  in  a  pot  and  set  it  deep  in  a 
nest  of  glowing  coals  with  coals  heaped  high 
over  the  lid,  so  that  they  would  be  ready  for 
the  next  meal.  Chores  were  done:  breakfast 
was  ready. 

Before  everyone  was  away  from  the  rude 
split-log  table,  two  boys  who  had  promised 
to  help  came  down  the  long,  rocky  trail  from 
a  neighboring  clearing,  and  all  set  out  for  the 
newly  plowed  field. 

"Now,  remember,  Abe,"  explained  his  fa- 
ther, "the  other  boys  will  follow  me  and 


PLANTING  SEEDS  AND  CHARACTER  41 

plant  corn,  but  you  must  keep  close  behind 
them  and  plant  the  pumpkin  seeds.  You 
are  a  big  lad  now,  big  enough  to  do  that  job 
right.  You  must  drop  two  seeds  in  every 
other  hill  and  every  other  row.  Remember. 
And  Sarah,  you  bring  the  bucket  for  water 
and  gather  up  the  tools  you  can  carry.  Each 
must  carry  his  share  of  the  tools.  Each  must 
do  his  share  of  the  work  in  the  field  or  go 
hungry  in  the  winter  time.  Not  a  seed  can 
be  wasted.  Every  seed  must  grow.  I  had 
to  go  many  hard  miles  to  borrow  these  seeds 
and  when  the  crop  grows  I  have  to  save 
seeds  to  pay  them  back.  Seeds  are  scare  in 
Kentucky  and  those  folks  who  have  them 
do  not  pass  any  around.  Even  kin  are  stingy 
with  good  seeds. 

"Abe,  you  hear  that?  No  pumpkin  seeds 
planted  means  no  pumpkin-pudding.  Of 
course  we  can  get  along  without  pumpkin- 
pudding  but  we  can  not  live  a  winter  through 
without  corn  for  corn-meal,  corn-dodgers 
and  corn-pone.  Plant  the  seeds  deep  enough 
so  that  the  sun  will  not  dry  out  the  roots, 
and  plant  them  far  enough  apart  so  that  they 


42  OFT -TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

do   not   choke   each   other.    All  right,  now 
everybody  to  his  work." 

Over  and  over  again,  Abe  said  to  himself, 
as  he  tucked  the  dry  seeds  into  their  soft  bed, 
"two  seeds  in  every  other  hill  and  every 
other  row."  His  good  mother  had  told  him 
how  the  hard,  yellow  seed  would  open  in  the 
earth  and  a  tiny  green  finger  stretch  out  try- 
ing to  reach  toward  the  sun.  Then  soon  aft- 
erwards long,  pretty  green  tendrils  would 
push  through  the  ground  and  run  in  stream- 
ers over  the  roots  of  the  corn.  Then,  when 
summer  was  over,  and  the  corn  had  been 
gathered,  and  the  stalks  stacked  up  in  tall, 
brown  bunches  all  over  the  field,  then,  ah 
then,  the  great  orange  pumpkins,  like  big 
bright  moons  brought  down  to  earth,  would 
lay  all  over  the  fields,  ready  to  be  made  into 
delicious  pumpkin-pudding!  Abe  was  hav- 
ing his  share  in  preparing  that  longed-for 
treat,  the  pumpkin-pudding,  and  so  the  day 
went  swiftly.  His  seed-bag  had  grown  thin 
and  did  not  look  like  a  little  fat  man  any 
longer.  It  began  to  topple  over,  it  was 
almost  empty. 


PLANTING  SEEDS  AND  CHARACTER 


43 


A  be  Tucked  the  Dry  Seeds  Into  Their  Soft  Bed 


"Come  on;  boys;  come  on,  Sarah;  come 
on,  Abie;  my  fine  worker!  Some  day  you 
will  have  a  fine  farm  of  your  own  with  lots 
of  crops  for  yourself  and  the  neighbors,  if 
you  work  as  hard  as  you  did  to-day,"  said 
Abe  Lincoln's  father,  and  Abe  was  very 
pleased. 

The  work  was  done.  Everyone  was  glad. 
No  more  planting  of  the  precious,  rare  seeds 
until  another  spring-time,  that  was  a  long, 


44  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

long  time  away.  Everyone  was  tired.  Sarah 
took  Abe's  hand  and  they  trudged  off 
together  across  the  hilly  field,  home.  Abe 
looked  back  over  the  straight,  orderly  rows 
and  remembered  what  his  father  had  said. 
Yes,  thought  Abe  Lincoln,  he  would  like  to 
have  a  nice  farm  when  he  grew  to  be  a  great, 
big,  man  like  his  father. 

There  were  no  calls  for  stories  that  night. 
Abe  and  Sarah  snuggled  up  under  their  skin- 
blankets  as  soon  as  they  had  eaten  the  fine 
rabbit  supper  their  mother  had  ready  for 
them.  She  said  Abe  would  have  to  have  a 
"man's  share"  for  he  was  a  big  man  now  and 
doing  a  man's  work.  Supper  was  not  long 
over  when  it  began  to  rain,  and  it  rained 
hard  all  night  through. 

"Well,  that  is  good  enough,"  said  Abe's 
father,  "the  seeds  will  get  well  soaked  and 
we  will  have  an  early  crop.  I  need  to  have 
a  fine  crop  for  I  must  pay  back  these  seeds 
I  borrowed  from  the  neighbors.  I  never 
knew  seeds  to  be  so  scarce  in  Kentucky 
before. 


PLANTING  SEEDS  AND  CHARACTER  45 

"I'll  tell  you,  Nancy,"  Tom  Lincoln  said  to 
his  wife,  "it  will  be  a  bad  thing  for  us  if  this 
crop  fails,  if  the  sun  gets  too  hot  and  burns 
it  up  when  it  is  young,  or  the  crows  should 
eat  the  tender  sprouts,  or  the  deer  should 
get  into  the  field.  We  shall  have  to  watch 
it  carefully,  for  I  would  have  to  go  many,  and 
many  a  long  mile  to  find  another  seed. 
Everyone  counts  his  seeds  nowadays." 

Tom  Lincoln  took  a  fox-skin  from  the  rude 
floor  and  hung  it  against  a  side  wall  where 
the  rain  was  beating  into  the  room.  Then 
all  candles  were  put  out  and  there  was  not 
a  sound  the  rest  of  the  night  save  the  con- 
stant, heavy  thud  of  the  rain  on  the  roof. 

In  the  morning  Abe  was  awakened  by  the 
cold  drip  of  rain  on  his  face,  and  bits  of  clay- 
mortar  which  it  had  loosened  in  the  ceiling, 
and  brought  splashing  down  with  it.  Sarah 
was  up  and  was  holding  the  piece  of  skin 
aside,  which  was  their  only  window.  She 
beckoned  to  Abe  and  he  went  to  see  what 
was  so  interesting  outside  in  the  rain- 
drenched  world. 

Little  rivers  were  rushing  madly  by  the 


46  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

cabin,  down  into  a  near-by  gorge;  little  cas- 
cades and  whirlpools  covered  every  slope 
and  hollow. 

"See,"  cried  Sarah  with  joy,  "see  the  little 
white  boats  bobbing  on  top  of  the  rivers!" 

"And  all  the  little  twigs  for  bridges  across 
the  river  too,"  said  Abe,  pointing  to  the 
broken  tree-branches  that  floated  along  with 
the  flood. 

"Oh,  oh!"  gasped  Sarah  with  alarm,  "those 
little  white  boats  are  the  seeds  we  planted 
yesterday." 

"The  pumpkin-seeds,  too?"  queried  Abe, 
all  ready  to  cry  at  the  terrible  catastrophe. 

"All  of  them,  corn  and  pumpkin!  All  of 
them!"  confirmed  the  six-year-old  Sarah. 

Tom  and  Nancy  Lincoln  came  to  the  hole, 
which  was  the  window,  to  learn  if  such  a 
calamity  could  be  so.  Yes,  Sarah  was  right! 
Soil  and  seeds  were  being  washed  along  into 
the  large  river  below. 

"Oh,  Tom,  what  shall  we  do?  Where  can 
we  get  more  seeds?"  Nancy  Lincoln  asked 
anxiously. 

"Well,"  said  her  husband  dryly,  "no  seeds 


PLANTING  SEEDS  AND  CHARACTER  47 

no  corn-meal,  no  seeds  no  pumpkins,  no 
seeds  no  potatoes,  no — " 

"Will  we  be  very  hungry?"  asked  Abe,  not 
understanding  just  why  everyone  seemed  so 
queerly  quiet  about  it. 

"Very,"  answered  his  mother,  smiling 
gently  down  at  her  boy.  Then  she  turned 
to  Abe's  father  and  said,  "Tom,  you  will 
have  to  go  to  Uncle  Berry's  house.  If  he  has 
any  seeds  of  any  kind,  I  know  he  will  give 
them  to  us.  Yes,  as  soon  as  it  stops  raining 
you  must  go.  It  is  a  long  way,  but  we  can- 
not starve,  so  there  is  nothing  else  to  do." 

Tom  Lincoln  did  go.  Uncle  Berry  gave 
him  a  new  supply  of  good  seeds.  Abe  and 
Sarah  again  did  their  share  of  the  planting, 
and  this  time  it  was  not  in  vain,  for  they  har- 
vested a  good,  big  crop,  in  the  fall. 


The  Magic  Rock 

(Adventure) 

"Do  you  know  what  a  magic  rock  is,  Aus- 
tin?" Abe  asked  his  young  visitor. 

"Well — a — maybe  I  saw  one  once,  but — " 

"Where  did  you  see  it,  Austin?" 

"Well,  Abe,  I  don't  just  remember.  Why? 
Have  you  got  a  magic  rock  around  here?" 

"Maybe.  But  first  I  want  to  know  where 
you  saw  that  magic  rock  that  you  know 
about.    Where  do  you  think  it  was,  Austin?" 

"Urn,  well,  a — now  I  guess  I  only  heard 
about  it.  Maybe  I  did  not  see  it.  And,  may- 
be I  did  see  one,  but  I  did  not  know  about  it 
being  a  magic  rock." 

"Oh,  no;  if  you  didn't  know  it,  then  it 
wasn't  one.  For  you  can  easy  tell  a  magic 
rock.     Everybody  can  tell." 

"Say,  Abe,  have  you  got  one  around?" 

"Maybe." 

"Where?     Show  it." 

"Well,  I — maybe — we  have  one  around, 
but  I'm  not  sure.     I  did  not  look  all  over  for 

48 


THE  MAGIC  ROCK  49 


it  yet,"  said  Abe  looking  up  at  the  sky  at 
nothing  in  particular. 

"Urn.  Then  how  do  you  know  so  much 
about  magic  rocks?" 

"My  mother  told  me  about  it." 

Abe  and  Austin  did  not  very  often  get  a 
chance  to  visit  each  other  and  when  they  did 
there  were  many  new  and  strange  things  and 
wondrous  tales  to  share.  To-day  Austin's 
mother  had  trudged  down  the  long  trail 
through  the  woods,  from  the  far-off  neigh- 
boring clearing.  She  had  come  to  visit  and 
to  learn  how  much  linsey-woolsey  Mrs.  Lin- 
coln had  made  on  her  big  loom  which  stood 
near  the  indoor-fireplace.  So,  while  the 
mothers  visited  and  told  each  other  of  the 
tasks  which  filled  their  lives,  the  two  young 
boys  sought  friendly  adventures  in  the  woods 
and  dells,  adventures  which  were  happier 
because  they  were  shared. 

"Go  on,  Abe,  tell  me  what  you  do  with  a 
magic  rock." 

"You  don't  do  anything  with  it.  Once 
there  was  a  man  in  a  boat.  The  waves  were 
very  high.     But  he  didn't  mind,  because  he 


50 OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

had  a  good  boat  and  it  went  on  top  of  the 
waves  just  fine.  He  was  going  across  far  off 
to  another  country,  you  know,  far,  far  off. 
And  he  was  having  a  good  time,  sailing  along 
quick  and  safe.  Then,  the  boat  began  to  act 
queer.  It  started  to  go  in  another  direction, 
up  near  some  rocks  on  the  shore.  It  would 
not  turn  back.  The  man  tried  and  tried  to 
make  it  turn  around  but  it  would  not." 

"My  uncle  has  a  horse  just  like  that,  too," 
said  Austin  with  understanding. 

"But  the  man  was  very  scared  because  the 
boat  wanted  to  go  near  the  rocks  where  the 
high  waves  were." 

"Who  was  the  man  on  the  boat,  Abe? 
Maybe  he  was  not  a  good  rower?"  suggested 
the  listener. 

"Yes,  he  was,"  said  Abe,  "he  was  a  good 
rower,  a  fine  one.  He  was  a  colored  man, 
with  black  skin." 

"How  did  your  mother  know  he  had  black 
skin?     Did  she  see  him?" 

"Maybe.  I  don't  now  whether  she  saw 
him  or  not,  but  she  knows  all  about  it  and 
she  told  me  all  about  it.     The  man  tried  and 


THE  MAGIC  ROCK  51 


tried  to  make  the  boat  go  straight  but  it 
would  not.  And  next  thing  it  was  right  up 
near  a  big  rock.  So,  the  man  thought  he 
would  get  off  and  sit  on  the  rock — you  know 
that  rock  was  in  the  middle  of  a  lot  of  deep, 
deep  water,  oh,  deeper  than  the  creek.  But 
he  thought  he  could  climb  up  to  the  top  of 
the  rock  and  pull  his  boat  up  to  see  what  was 
the  matter." 

"Oh,  I  know  all  about  that  story,  Abe. 
You  told  me  before.  That  was  an  island 
and  it  was  Robinson  Crusoe  in  the  boat." 
Austin  was  sure  he  had  known  about  that 
magic  rock,  all  along. 

"No,  this  was  another  man.  Robinson 
Crusoe  was  on  an  island  but  this  wasn't  an 
island:  it  was  a  magic  rock!  And  when  the 
man — " 

"Do  you  mean  the  colored  man?" 

"And  when  the  colored  man  got  near  the 
rock,  Zip!  Zip!  It  pulled  every  single  nail 
right  out  of  that  boat!" 

"Why?"  asked  the  dubious  Austin. 

"Because,  didn't  I  tell  you;  it  was  a  magic 
rock?    That's  the  way  magic  rocks  always 


52  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

do.  Pull  out  every  single  nail.  What's  left? 
Nothing  but  old  boards,  all  loose,  so  they 
floated  away,  off  into  the  ocean,  I  think." 

"What  did  the  colored  man  do?" 

"Just  sat  there,  on  top  of  the  rock."  Abe 
was  not  quite  sure  on  that  point,  but  Austin 
must  be  satisfied. 

"Why  did  he  sit  there?  Why  didn't  he 
make  a  raft  like  Robinson  Crusoe?"  asked 
the  visitor. 

"Urn,  because.  Say,  Austin,  come  on  let 
us  go  down  to  the  creek  and  play  Robinson 
Crusoe.  There  are  two  big  logs  down  there. 
And — "  (Abe  whispered  the  great  secret) — 
"I  know  a  place  where  there  is  a  covey  of 
young  partridges.  Father  carried  me  across 
the  creek  and  showed  them  to  me  yesterday. 
Want  to  see  them?    They  are  pretty!" 

"I  will  take  some  home  with  me,"  called 
Austin  as  he  ran  ahead  toward  the  creek. 

"No,"  warned  Abe,  "you  can't  touch  them. 
They  are  only  babies.  The  mother  has  to 
keep  them  warm.  You  can  only  look  at 
them.  Besides  they  are  away  over  on  the 
other  side  of  the  creek.    The  creek  is  too 


THE  MAGIC  ROCK  53 


wide,  you  can  not  jump  over.  Only  my 
father  can  jump  over  the  creek.   He  is  big." 

Austin  was  paying  little  attention  to  Abe's 
warnings.  He  was  running  up  and  down 
the  bank  of  the  creek  looking  for  a  narrower 
place  where  he  might  attempt  a  flying  jump. 

"Oh,  good!  Here  is  the  log!  Now  we  can 
have  a  magic-ship!"  shouted  Austin  with 
glee. 

Austin  pushed  the  heavy  log  to  the  edge 
of  the  bank.  It  rolled  down  into  the  water 
and  began  to  float  away. 

"Quick,  let's  coon  it!"  suggested  Austin, 
grabbing  one  end  of  the  log  and  holding  it  at 
the  water's  edge.    Abe  hesitated. 

"Fraidy!  Old  Fraidy!"  teased  Austin, 
jumping  on  the  log  and  with  a  skip  and  a  leap 
reaching  the  opposite  shore  in  safety. 

Abe  tried  to  do  the  same,  but  as  soon  as 
he  touched  it  the  log  began  to  move  out  into 
the  stream.  Abe  dropped  down  on  his  hands 
and  knees  and  held  on.  It  began  to  wobble. 
Abe  laid  down  flat  on  his  stomach  along  the 
top  of  it,  and  tried  to  squirm  over  to  the  end 
toward  the  shore  where  Austin  stood  safe 


54  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

and  sound.  The  log  was  seized  by  the  swift 
current  and  began  to  float  into  a  wider  part 
of  the  creek. 

Austin  grew  alarmed  and  began  running 
back  and  forth  on  the  bank,  urging  Abe  to 
get  back  to  the  home-side  shore  if  he  could. 
But  Abe,  in  the  very  middle  of  the  stream 
would  have  been  glad  to  reach  either  shore, 
anywhere  so  long  as  long  as  it  was  dry  land. 

"Get  up  off  your  stomach!  Stand  up, 
Abe!"  shouted  Austin. 

Abe  tried.  Failed.  Flopped  back  the 
length  of  the  log. 

"Don't  look  at  the  water!"  yelled  the  boy 
from  the  land,  "don't  look  down  where  it 
is  over  your  head!  Look  up  and  crawl  along 
to  this  end  and  I'll  try  to  grab  it  when  it  gets 
near  shore.    Go  on,  Abe,  get  up!" 

Abe  made  a  brave  effort  to  stand  up  on 
the  log,  but  the  heavy  log  rolled,  drifted,  and 
bobbed  about  like  a  duckling.  It  began  to 
cut-up  capers  which  made  little  Abe  wish  he 
were  anywhere  but  on  top  of  that  log  with 
only  deep,  deep  water  beneath  him. 

Abe  tried  again. 


Abe  Was  Off  the  Slippery  Log 
55 


56  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

"That  is  right!  Gome  on,  Abe!  Lookup 
and — whoa,  there!    Whooo!" 

The  log  was  worse  than  the  boat  which 
went  upon  the  magic-rock  for  this  craft 
would  not  go  near  any  rock.  Abe  went  down 
on  his  stomach  again.  He  dared  not  stay  up 
on  his  knees  now  for  the  log  began  to  roll 
around  with  the  current.  It  pranced  up  and 
down  in  the  water  like  a  pony  in  the  meadow 
when  it  is  trying  to  throw  some  rider  off. 
Abe  held  on  with  his  arms  wrapped  around 
the  middle  and  his  legs  tight  around  the  end. 
The  log  was  never  still.  As  soon  as  Abe 
squirmed  to  a  safe  place  on  top  the  log  rolled 
over  again.  It  tossed;  it  twisted;  it  bobbed; 
it  bounced,  this  way,  that  way,  every  way. 
Abe  was  getting  more  afraid  every  minute. 
He  was  drenched.  The  log  was  slippery  for 
all  sides  of  it  had  been  under  water. 

"Hold  on!  Hold  on,  Abe!  Look,  it  is  drift- 
ing over  to  me!  I'll  grab  it  when  it  gets — 
O-o-o-o-o!" 

Abe  was  off!  Off  the  slippery  log.  Down 
in  the  deep  water.  Down  in  the  middle  of 
the  creek. 


THE  MAGIC  ROCK  57 


Austin  ran  along  the  bank  wildly.  He 
saw  a  long  branch,  and  it  reminded  him  of 
what  he  had  seen  his  father  do  when  a  man 
was  drowning  near  their  home.  Quick  as  a 
flash  he  was  on  his  stomach  at  the  edge  of 
the  stream  pushing  the  stick  to  his  struggling 
companion. 

Abe  snatched  at  it  as  his  hand  came  above 
the  water.  He  held  on  for  dear  life.  Aus- 
tin pulled.  Abe  was  saved.  Austin  knew 
what  to  do;  he  had  seen  his  father  roll  the 
rescued  man  back  and  forth  on  the  grassy 
slope  and  he  had  seen  his  father  press  hard 
under  the  man's  shoulders,  up  and  down,  up 
and  down.  He  did  the  same  to  Abe.  Soon 
he  was  all  right  again.  But  as  he  sat  on  the 
bank  looking  at  his  dripping  clothes,  he  re- 
membered that  his  mother  had  told  him  not 
to  go  to  the  creek. 

What  would  she  say?  Surely  there  would 
be  trouble  if  he  went  home  with  water  run- 
ning from  every  hair  of  his  deer-skin  pants, 
from  every  seam  of  his  new  linsey-woolsey 
shirt. 

"Let  us  spread  them  out  on  the  rocks," 


58 


OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


said  the  older  and  wiser  Austin.  "And  say, 
Abe,  don't  you  say  a  word  about  this  to  any- 
one and  I  won't,  either." 

And  neither  told  a  soul  until  many,  many 
years  later  when  they  had  grown  to  be  big, 
big  men.  Then  one  day  when  Abraham  Lin- 
coln was  President  of  the  United  States, 
Austin  came  to  Washington  to  ask  Abe  if  he 
remembered  about  it;  and  Abe  did. 


The  Hungry  Soldier 

(Kindness  to  the  Needy) 

Abe  was  going  to  church  with  his  mother. 
It  was  a  great  event.  They  must  make  a 
long  trip  under  the  big  forest  trees,  past 
ravines  and  glens  where  foxes  sulked  and 
many  wild  creatures  made  their  home.  And 
best  of  all,  they  must  pass  the  falls  where 
the  water  flew  high  in  a  misty  veil,  and 
frothy  foamy  whirlpools  caught  up  the  roar- 
ing waters,  carried  it  over  rocks  and  fallen 
trees  until  it  grew  calm  and  settled  down  in 
the  slow-moving  creek. 

Abe  loved  this  three-mile  walk  with  his 
mother  because  his  mother  explained  all  the 
beautiful  things  the  preacher  said?  all  the 
many,  many  things  which  he  did  not  under- 
stand. But  to-day,  as  they  strolled  home  after 
church,  he  was  not  paying  attention  to  the 
things  his  mother  was  telling  him  about  the 
sermon.  He  was  thinking  of  the  large  turtle 
he  had  seen  as  he  came  through  the  woods. 

59 


60  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


Abe  Was  Going  to  Church  With  His  Mother 

He  had  thought  of  nothing  else  but  that  tur- 
tle all  the  time  the  gray-haired  man  was 
preaching. 

Abe  was  wondering  whether  or  not  the 
turtle  which  he  had  seen  sunning  itself  on 
a  rock  at  the  side  of  the  creek  would  be  there 
when  he  returned.  He  knew  he  could  not 
take  a  turtle  to  church,  but  he  hoped  it  would 
enjoy  the  sun  until  he  was  ready  to  carry  it 
home  with  him.  But  when  he  returned  the 
turtle  was  gone. 

So,  Abe  made  other  plans.  Bright  and 
early  the  next  morning  he  slipped  off  alone 
to  search  for  the  little  mud-creature  that  car- 


THE  HUNGRY  SOLDIER  61 

ried  its  shell  house  on  its  back  wherever  it 
went.  He  went  right  back  to  the  very  spot 
where  the  turtle  had  been  and  made  a  care- 
ful search  among  the  reeds  and  bull-rushes. 
No  turtle  was  there.  But  the  creek  was 
pleasant.  He  lay  flat  on  the  grass  and 
daubed  his  hands  in  and  out  of  the  water; 
caught  the  foamy  bubbles  as  they  rushed 
by;  kicked  his  heels  high  in  the  air  and 
watched  the  sunny  rocks  for  other  wander- 
ing members  of  Mr.  Turtle's  family.  And, 
too,  he  had  seen  the  silver-flash  of  fishes  as 
they  leaped  above  the  water  to  catch  gnats 
and  flies,  and  then  dropped  back  in  a  shower 
of  brilliant  gems  of  rainbow  colors,  leaving 
behind  a  calm  stretch  of  ever-widening 
circles. 

These  are  lovely  things,  but  when  all  is  so 
quiet  with  only  the  birds  twittering  above,  a 
boy  grows  drowsy.  So  Abe  Lincoln  began 
to  yawn  and  nod;  his  hands  did  not  splash 
such  high  water-spouts,  but  they  still  dragged 
lazily  in  the  water.  The  water  trickled 
coolly  against  his  open  palm.  He  was 
almost  asleep.    He  had  forgotten  the  turtle. 


62  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

He  had  forgotten  almost  everything,  when — 
Swish!  Smack!  Some  thing  slippery,  squirmy 
dragged  at  his  fingers.  Abe  closed  them 
tight.  He  caught  a  fish!  How  surprised 
Mother  would  be  when  he  brought  the  sup- 
per home — a  fine,  fresh  supper,  such  as 
father  would  bring  home  after  a  whole  day  in 
the  woods.  Abe  put  a  long  grass  through  the 
fish's  gills  and  hung  it  on  a  pole  over  his 
shoulder  just  as  he  had  seen  his  father  do 
many  times. 

Abe  was  very  proud,  very  happy.  His 
mother  would  smile  so  kindly  and  stroke  his 
tousled  head  and  tell  him  how  proud  she  was 
of  her  good  boy.  Abe  began  to  sing  aloud 
as  he  thought  of  this.  Soon,  thought  Abe,  he 
would  be  going  out  with  his  father  through 
the  high  brush  and  ferns  to  catch  turkey- 
poulets.  He  threw  back  his  head  and 
walked  more  quickly,  singing  a  lusty  song 
till  the  woods  rang  with  the  happy  echo. 

Hark!  What  was  that?  Abe  stopped  still 
in  the  path.  Then  he  heard  a  crackling  twig, 
a  heavy  step.  Someone  coming  through  the 
forest  with  a  strange,  unfamiliar  step. 


THE  HUNGRY  SOLDIER  63 

Abe  hurried  to  the  turn  of  the  trail.  Com- 
ing with  weary,  heavy  tread  was  a  tall  man 
in  a  faded,  ragged  uniform;  a  stooped  man 
with  a  knapsack  strapped  across  his  shoul- 
ders; a  lonely  man  wearing  a  soldier's  cap, 
Abe  stepped  to  the  side  of  the  narrow  path 
that  the  man  might  pass.  Here  was  a  sol- 
dier. His  mother  had  told  him  all  boys 
should  be  very  kind  to  the  soldiers  who  had 
fought  for  the  country  in  the  war  of  1812. 

"Heigho!  That  was  a  merry  song,  my  lad! 
Even  the  mocking-bird  stopped  to  listen." 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  Abe,  not  knowing  what 
else  to  say. 

"And  you  are  a  fisherman,  too!  A  fine 
catch  for  so  early  in  the  day.  What  is  your 
name?" 

"Abraham  Lincoln,  sir.    I'm  six  years  old 


now." 


"Six  years  old!  And  a  first-class  fisher- 
man already.  I  fished  every  stream  along 
the  way  and  could  not  catch  a  fish  as  big  as 
that.  I  thought  I  would  have  fresh  fish  for 
breakfast  but — " 


64 


OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


He  Turned  to  Wave  to  Abe  as  He  Rounded  the 
First  Turn  of  the  Way 


"Here — you — you — here  is  my  fish.  It  is 
for  you.     I  can  get  more,"  said  the  little  boy. 

"Ho!  Ho!  How  did  you  know  I  was  hun- 
gry? I  hope  you  will  never  be  hungry,  my 
lad,  I  hope  you  will  always  be  able  to  sing 
such  a  merry  tune  and  send  it  ringing  through 
the  forest.  Boy,  I  am  hungry  through  and 
through.  This  fish  is  a  great  feast  for  me. 
Thanks  and  luck  to  you!" 

The  half-starved  soldier  hung  the  fish  on 


THE  HUNGRY  SOLDIER  65 

the  end  of  his  musket,  and  started  again  on 
the  lonely  trail.  He  turned  to  wave  to  Abe 
as  he  rounded  the  first  turn  of  the  way.  Abe 
did  not  want  him  to  get  out  of  sight.  He  ran 
swiftly  to  the  bend  which  hid  the  man,  and 
hurried  on  until  he  had  spied  him  again,  far 
off  down  the  path.  Then  he  stood  very  still. 
The  faded  uniform  drew  farther  and  farther 
away.  Abe  kept  watch  until  it  was  lost  in 
the  heavy  shadows  of  the  lonesome  glen. 


Blazing  a  Trail  to  Pigeon  Greek 

(Learning  Hardship) 

"Gitup,  Baldy!  Over  there!  Now!  Over! 
GituP!" 

Baldy  nipped  his  team-mate's  ear,  then 
pulled  far  off  to  the  other  side  of  the  trail. 
Baldy  was  not  accustomed  to  working  in  a 
team  and  when  she  was  forced  to  pull  with 
another  horse  she  grew  cross  and  unruly. 
Now  she  was  balky.  However,  Abe's  father 
touched  her  with  the  long  rawhide  whip  and 
brought  her  to  a  sense  of  obedience,  for 
Baldy  must  share  her  work  on  this  trip 
whether  she  wanted  to  or  not. 

There  was  hard  work  for  the  horses  and 
hard  work  for  all  in  the  party.  For,  the  Lin- 
colns  were  moving  from  Kentucky,  going 
over  a  long,  dangerous  wilderness  trail, 
through  unbroken  forests,  over  steep  hills 
and  swampy,  marshy  valleys,  mud  and  rocks, 
to  build  a  new  log-cabin  home  in  lonely  In- 
diana. 

66 


BLAZING  A  TRAIL  TO  PIGEON  CREEK  67 

Abe's  father  had  gone  to  select  the  spot 
and  then  came  home  to  tell  his  family  all 
about  it  and  about  the  journey  they  must 
make.  It  had  taken  Tom  Lincoln,  Abe's 
father,  many  days  to  make  the  first  journey 
when  he  went  to  see  the  place. 

What  fun  Abe  and  Sarah  had  had,  help- 
ing to  build  the  big  boat  that  he  loaded  full 
of  supplies  and  materials  for  the  journey  into 
the  unknown.  But  that  boat  did  not  go  very 
far  on  the  journey,  for  when  Tom  Lincoln 
was  crossing  the  Ohio  River  it  upset.  The 
barrels  and  boxes  were  scattered  in  all  di- 
rections and  Tom  was  lucky  to  save  himself 
from  the  deep  water.  He  fished  from  the 
stream  with  a  long  pole  the  smaller  articles 
he  could  carry  under  his  arm,  and  then  set 
out  on  foot  into  Indiana.  He  found  a  spot 
of  ground  he  liked  on  the  bank  of  a  creek 
and  drove  his  stakes  at  four  corners  to  show 
other  men  that  it  was  his.  Then  he  started 
back  home,  back  to  Kentucky  to  get  his  wife 
and  children. 

Now  they  had  finished  packing  the  big, 
covered   wagon.     The   feather-bed   was   in 


68  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

place,  the  oven,  and  the  few  small  pieces  of 
household  articles  that  they  owned,  were  all 
under  the  large  top  and  Abe  and  Sarah  on 
top  of  the  horses'  backs.  They  were  off  for 
Indiana,  off  for  Pigeon  Greek,  off  for  their 
new  home  in  the  wilderness. 

What  a  journey  it  was!  Tom  Lincoln  had 
to  walk  ahead  cutting  brambles  and  brush 
with  his  sharp  ax;  felling  small  trees,  to  build 
up  a  road  over  some  sink-hole;  rolling  larger 
fallen  trees  out  of  the  path  he  was  cutting; 
carving  a  trail  through  the  forest  depths,  so 
that  the  way  would  be  easier  for  those  who 
came  after  his  wife  and  two  children,  Abe 
and  Sarah.  Other  pioneers  had  done  the 
same  for  those  who  should  follow. 

On  they  dragged,  day  after  day,  week  after 
week,  through  hot  sun  and  cold  nights,  think- 
ing only  of  the  new  home  at  Pigeon  Greek. 

When  the  horses  were  unhitched  at  night, 
or  when  the  day's  trip  was  done,  Sarah  and 
Abe  gathered  the  firewood  while  their  father 
hunted  the  forest  for  food,  and  their  mother 
swung  the  huge  pot  over  the  fire  and  pre- 
pared the  frugal  meal.    Abe  and  Sarah  liked 


Sarah  and  Abe  Sat  High  on  the  Horses9  Backs 
69 


BLAZING  A  TRAIL  TO  PIGEON  CREEK  71 

the  trip.  They  liked  sleeping  out  under  the 
big  trees,  or  on  rainy  nights  under  the  big 
wagon  top,  but  their  mother  was  anxious. 
She  feared  the  wild  beasts  that  occasionally 
crossed  their  path  during  the  day  and  howled 
on  all  sides  at  night.  To  her  it  seemed  as  if 
the  trip  would  never  end;  but  one  bright  day 
the  horses  plunged  into  Pigeon  Creek  and 
Tom  Lincoln  said: 

"Right  over  there  in  that  big  grove  of 
sycamores  on  the  other  side  of  the  creek,  we 
will  have  our  farm.  Gitup  Baldy!  Into  the 
water!    Gitup !" 

The  horses  snorted  and  plunged  into  the 
swollen  stream.  Sarah  and  Abe  sat  high  up 
on  the  horses'  backs  and  shouted  with  joy  as 
the  water  splashed  in  white  foam  around 
Baldy's  chest  and  nose,  sometimes  dashed 
over  their  own  faces.  Their  bare  feet  were 
touching  the  cool  water  as  they  dangled  over 
the  horses'  sides.  Once  or  twice  it  seemed 
as  though  the  water  would  wash  them  right 
off  the  horses'  backs  into  the  creek.  But  soon 
they  were  over  the  deepest  parts:  the  horses 


72  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

shook  themselves  and  scrambled  up  the  dry 
bank,  safe  and  sound. 

"There  are  my  stakes!"  said  the  father, 
"And  soon  we  will  have  a  good  farm." 

But  where  was  the  new  home?  Not  a 
stick  or  a  stone  was  there  that  looked  like  a 
new  cabin.    Not  even  a  few  cut  trees. 

Nothing  but  forest,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  tall  trees,  dark  forest,  wilderness.  It 
was  getting  very  cold.  Night  was  settling 
down. 

"Come,  Abe,  do  not  stand  there  dreaming! 
Here  is  our  new  farm.  A  log-cabin  won't 
grow  like  corn.  You  have  to  build  one.  So 
come  along.  You  and  Sarah,  gather  the  dry 
leaves  for  your  bed  and  get  things  ready  for 
the  night.  In  the  morning  we  all  will  get  up 
before  the  sun  and  start  chopping  trees  for 
a  clearing. 

Abe's  mother  was  arranging  the  three  long 
poles  which  would  hold  the  pot  over  the 
fire,  but  as  Abe  passed  her  as  he  went  for 
dry  leaves,  she  stroked  his  face  and  told  him 
he  was  getting  to  be  a  man. 

In  the  morning  the  real  work  began.  Abe 


BLAZING  A  TRAIL  TO  PIGEON  CREEK  73 

and  Sarah  gathered  bark  and  leaves,  while 
their  father  cut  long  poles.  The  poles  were 
driven  deep  into  the  ground  in  three  short 
rows,  then  Abe  and  Sarah  spread  the  bark 
along  the  row  from  top  to  bottom  of  the  tall 
poles.  When  this  was  done — the  poles  close 
together  and  the  bark  bound  tight  with  dry 
grass  strings — three  sides  of  their  new  home 
was  done,  the  back  and  two  sides. 

"Sarah,  where  are  those  long  poles  for  the 
roof?"  Tom  Lincoln  shouted  from  the  back 
of  the  newly  finished  row. 

"Right  here,"  said  Sarah  tugging  a  bundle 
of  sticks  as  big  as  herself. 

Her  father  spread  these  from  side  to  side 
across  the  top  of  the  upright  poles,  then 
called  for  Abe  and  Sarah  to  bring  more 
dry  leaves,  more  bark.  He  spread  these 
evenly  over  the  top  of  the  sticks  he  had  just 
laid  and  then  called  out: 

"Well,  that  was  good  work!  The  cabin 
is  finished!" 

Finished?  And  it  only  had  three  sides, 
no  floor  but  the  cold  hard  ground,  no  win- 
dows, and  since  one  whole  side  of  the  house 


74 


OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


Lincoln's  Indiana  Home 


was  open  they  did  not  need  a  door.  This  was 
their  new  cabin  in  the  wilds,  where  the  snow 
and  ice  and  sleet  blew  for  many  long,  long 
months.  Winter  was  a  few  weeks  away,  and 
sometimes  in  that  first  winter  while  they 
lived  in  this  rough  shelter  at  Pigeon  Greek, 
the  snow  blew  great  drifts  in  at  the  open 
side  and  with  the  snow  came  heavy  smoke 
from  the  outside  fire  which  must  be  kept 
burning  steadily  day  and  night  lest  hungry 
beasts  come  into  the  three-sided  shelter  and 
eat  them  all.  The  smoke  swirled  and  twisted 
and  like  a  thick  cloud  shut  out  the  light  and 
fresh  air,  choking  them,  making  their  eyes 
sore  and  adding  to  their  discomfort. 


BLAZING  A  TRAIL  TO  PIGEON  CREEK 


75 


It  was  a  long,  long  winter  for  Nancy  Lin- 
coln and  her  brave  boy  and  little  daughter, 
and  they  were  indeed  happy  when  the  bright 
cardinal  bird  flashed  like  a  red,  darting  flame 
through  the  dreariness  of  the  forest  and  told 
them  spring  was  coming  even  as  swift  as  his 
blithesome  song. 


Making  Candles 

(Patience) 

"The  wind  is  from  the  west.  Abe,  you  and 
Sarah  must  make  some  candles  today,"  called 
Abe's  mother.  "I  have  a  large  lump  of  bear 
and  deer  tallow  on  hand.  If  you  work  fast 
you  should  have  some  fine  candles  ready  be- 
fore your  father  comes  back  from  looking 
over  his  traps.  This  soft  wind  will  dry  the 
tallow  quickly.    Gome,  Sarah." 

Mrs.  Lincoln  went  into  a  corner  of  the 
cabin  and  brought  the  string  for  the  candle- 
wicks,  while  Sarah  skipped  off  into  the  woods 
for  two  firm  sticks,  one  for  herself  and  one 
for  her  little  brother.  They  tied  the  strings 
along  the  full  length  of  the  sticks  and  were 
ready  for  work. 

"Let  us  see  who  is  the  best  worker,"  said 
Mrs.  Lincoln.  "I  shall  work  inside  at  my 
loom,  while  you  work  here  and  for  every 
candle  you  make  I  will  try  to  make  an  inch 
of  linsey-woolsey." 

76 


MAKING  CANDLES  77 


"Oh,"  exclaimed  Sarah,  "but  Mother  you 
are  a  fast  worker,  and  Abe  is  only  a  little 
boy,  and  we  can  not  work  as  fast  as  the 
loom.,, 

"Nonsense,  Sarah,"  said  her  Mother,  "you 
can  work  faster  for  you  can  make  six  and 
eight  candles  at  a  time,  but  I  can  make  only 
a  small,  single  thread  at  each  throw  of  the 
shuttle." 

"That  is  right!  Let  us  begin  the  race," 
called  Sarah  bending  over  the  boiling  kettle, 
gathering  the  bubbling,  sputtering  tallow 
onto  the  dangling  strings.  Candle-making 
had  commenced,  while  indoors  the  clatter 
and  bang  of  the  flying  shuttle  and  swaying 
loom  told  the  tale  of  cloth  growing  inch  by 
inch. 

Both  children  were  intent  on  the  work. 
At  last  Sarah  took  time  to  learn  where  she 
stood  in  the  race. 

"Urn,  Abe,  that  is  nice!  There  is  one 
almost  as  big  as  a  mouse's  tail  already.  How 
many  times  did  you  dip  it?"  All  the  time 
Sarah   was  judging  Abe's   string   she   was 


78  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

swinging  her  own  back  and  forth  in  the  air, 
cooling  the  tallow  on  the  forming  candles. 

"This  will  be  twenty  times,"  Abe 
answered,  "but  I  am  going  to  make  mine  as 
big  as  squirrels'  tails!" 

"Squirrels'  tails?"  taunted  Sarah,  "Mine 
are  going  to  be  as  big  as  foxes'  tails,  maybe 
bigger." 

But  Sarah  had  taken  too  big  a  job,  she  had 
put  too  many  strings  on  her  stick  and  each 
time  she  dipped,  the  candles  caught  the  side 
of  the  pot,  and  the  end  candles  melted  down 
a  little. 

"Um,  six  strings  are  easy  to  do,"  she  said, 
"but  I  have  eight  on  my  stick,  that  is  the 
reason  your  candles  are  thicker  than  mine!" 

Abe  did  not  stop  to  measure  candles,  he 
was  running  back  and  forth,  back  and  forth, 
the  full  length  of  the  clearing,  waving  his 
stick  in  the  cooling  wind,  stopping  only  long 
enough  to  feel  the  soft  tallow  to  find  whether 
it  was  hard  enough  for  another  dipping. 

"Now,  Abraham  Lincoln,  look  at  mine! 
Mine  are  the  thickest!"  bragged  Sarah  show- 
ing her  work. 


MAKING  CANDLES 


79 


So  Through  the  Afternoon  the  Children  Worked  Happily 


"Not  so  very  much,"  Abe  defended,  while 
he  puffed  and  blew  with  all  his  might,  try- 
ing to  make  the  soft  tallow  set  more  quickly. 

So  through  the  afternoon  the  children 
worked  happily,  dipping,  blowing,  running, 
shaping,  and  when  twilight  came  softly  down, 
and  it  was  candle-lighting-time  there  were 
many  fine  candles  all  nicely  shaped  for  use, 
ready  to  shine  out  into  the  night  and  show 
the  tiny  home  in  the  depths  of  the  woods. 


80  OFT -TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

And  oh,  how  they  teased  their  mother,  for 
although  she  had  been  weaving  all  day,  there 
was  not  nearly  so  many  inches  of  cloth  as 
there  were  candles.  So,  as  a  reward  for 
their  skill,  she  promised  to  let  the  children 
help  dye  the  cloth  she  had  finished.  Walnut 
bark  dye  would  turn  the  long  folds  into  a 
beautiful  brown  color,  and  she  promised  they 
would  all  play  "magician"  early  next  day. 


Neighbors 

( COMPANIONABLENESS) 

"Oh!  Oh!  Tom  and  Betsy  Sparrow! 
Well !  Good  enough !  And  Dennis  Hanks ! " 
cried  Nancy  Lincoln  running  to  meet  a  cov- 
ered wagon.  The  two  strong  horses  puffed 
and  strained  through  the  undergrowth  into 
the  Lincoln  clearing. 

"True  enough!  Tom  and  Betsy  and — well, 
look  will  you,  they  brought  a  cow!  When  we 
came  from  Kentucky  our  milk  all  churned 
to  butter  in  the  wagon  as  we  bumped  along 
the  way.  But  I  see  you  kept  your  milk  for 
drinking  not  for  eating.  Good!"  Tom  Lin- 
coln was  helping  the  new-comers  to  unload, 
for  since  he  had  begun  to  build  the  new  cabin 
to  take  the  place  of  the  first,  crude  three- 
sided  shelter,  he  had  been  anxious  to  have 
some  one  come  and  share  the  clearing  with 
them. 

Dennis  Hanks,  Abe's  cousin,  who  had  been 
in  the  wagon  handing  out  the  things  they  had 

81 


82  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

brought,  now  swung  down  to  the  ground 
and  began  to  tell  Sarah  and  Abe  all  about  the 
wonderful  things,  the  many  dangers  and  the 
fierce  wild  beasts,  they  had  met  on  the 
journey. 

"You  are  going  to  have  our  old  three- 
sided  camp,"  Sarah  confided  to  Dennis,  "for 
our  new  one  is  almost  done.  It  has  a  loft 
way,  way  up,  where  Abe  sleeps.  Gome  and 
see  it." 

Off  they  ran,  the  three  cousins,  off  to  the 
bare  cabin  which  like  the  old  three-sided 
shelter,  had  only  one  room,  no  doors,  no 
windows  or  floor,  but  did  have  an  "upstairs." 
The  "stairs"  were  little  pegs  driven  into  the 
logs  of  the  side  wall.  They  were  straight 
up  and  down,  straighter  than  a  ladder.  How 
Dennis  and  Sarah  did  enjoy  going  up  and 
down  those  pegs  which  were  so  small  that 
one  had  to  hold  very  tight  or  he  would  fall 
down  to  the  dirt  floor  below.  They  had  been 
up  and  down  almost  a  dozen  times  when 
Nancy  Lincoln,  Sarah's  mother,  called  for 
them  to  come  to  the  "party." 

She  had  prepared  "refreshments"  for  the 


NEIGHBORS 


83 


Tom  Lincoln  Was  Helping  the  Newcomers  to  Unload 


visitors  who  had  travelled  so  far  to  join  them 
in  the  little  wilderness  clearing.  Nancy 
Lincoln  wanted  the  children  to  enjoy  the 
fine  feast  with  the  older  folks.  Such  a  feast 
it  was:  there  were  raw  potatoes,  nicely 
peeled;  there  was  sweet- water  made  by  put- 
ting maple  sugar  into  a  large  pitcher  of 
water;  and  there  was  a  raw  turnip  for  each 
guest,  and  corn-dodgers ;  and — most  wonder- 
ful, unusual  treat! — an  extra-special  dish  of 
dried  berries  and  honey. 


84  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

When  the  "party"  was  over,  Tom  Lincoln 
took  his  folks  around  to  show  how  much 
ground  he  had  plowed  and  planted,  and 
which  part  of  the  "claim"  he  would  share 
with  them.  He  showed  them  the  many, 
many  holes  he  had  made  in  the  ground  while 
trying  to  find  water  for  a  well.  The  place 
was  like  a  honey-comb,  there  were  so  many. 

"Now,"  said  Tom  Sparrow,  "I  heard  of  a 
man  that  had  a  magic-wand.  It  was  really 
nothing  but  a  forked  peach-tree  sprig,  but  he 
made  it  into  a  magic-wand.  Yes,  he  held  it 
in  his  two  hands  and  it  turned  and  pointed 
right  to  the  place  where  you  should  sink 
your  shovel  to  dig.  And  if  you  gave  him  a 
dollar,  they  say,  he  pointed  straight  to  water 
every  time." 

"Is  that  so?"  asked  Tom  Lincoln,  "I  sup- 
pose he  was  some  real  magician." 

"Yes,"  declared  Tom  Sparrow,  "I  think  he 
said  he  was  that.  But  magician  or  not,  he  did 
find  water, when  you  gave  him  the  dollar.  But 
I  say,  if  he  could  bring  water  that  easy,  he 
could  probably  take  it  away  again,  just  as 
quick!    Gould  take  it  away  whenever  he  got 


NEIGHBORS 


85 


mad  and  wanted  to.  You  can  never  tell 
about  those  magicians." 

"That  is  so!"  agreed  Abe's  father.  "Once 
one  of  those  fellows  came  around  here,  but 
I  told  him  it  was  all  stuff  and  nonsense,  and 
I  would  not  waste  any  money  on  such  tricks, 
and  I  didn't  either.  This  fellow  used  a  wil- 
low-wand, I  think.  But  I  say,  the  only  way 
to  find  water  in  these  parts  is  to  use  your 
shovel  and  dig  deep." 

So  they  went  here  and  there  and  every- 
where, telling  all  the  strange  and  new  things 
they  had  heard  about  since  their  last  meet- 
ing in  Kentucky.  Then  they  went  into  the 
new  cabin  to  plan  a  new  life  and  work  for 
the  coming  winter  and  future  years. 


The  Bear  Hunt 

(Adapted  from  a  Ballad  Written  by  Abraham  Lincoln) 

Tiger  was  restless.  He  sniffed  into  every 
corner  of  the  cabin.  He  growled  at  every 
shadow  which  the  sun  threw  into  the 
room.  He  pawed  Abe's  arm  and  nosed  his 
neck.  In  every  way  that  a  dog  could  do,  he 
urged  Abe  to  leave  his  school-books;  to  get 
up  from  before  the  fire-place;  to  hunt  the 
lurking  wind  which  blew  the  trees.  But  Abe 
could  not  be  coaxed  from  his  lessons,  he 
wanted  to  get  right  through  that  book  he  had, 
and  to  learn  every  problem  in  it  by  heart.  So 
old  Tige  went  off  and  made  another  round  of 
the  cabin.  He  came  back  and  pawed  Abe's 
arm  harder  than  ever.  Now  his  hair  stood  up 
stiff  on  his  back.  His  ears  were  high.  His 
tail  stuck  out  straight  behind*  Desperate 
he  dashed  out  under  the  deer-skin  door  and 
stood  there  howling,  wailing  as  if  he  had  gone 
stark  mad. 

Abe  was  suddenly  alert.  Down  went  his 
book.    There  came  other  cries  even  louder 

86 


THE  BEAR  HUNT  87 


than  Tige's  terrible  yelps.  There  was  an  up- 
roar, a  shrieking,  a  squealing,  down  at  the 
pig-sty. 

"Bears!"  shouted  Abe. 

"Stealing  the  pigs!"  cried  his  mother  in 
great  alarm. 

"Out,  lad!"  commanded  Abe's  father  as 
he  snatched  his  gun  from  the  wall  and  was 
off.  Abe  grabbed  up  a  heavy  club  and  fol- 
lowed close.  The  pigs  were  squealing  louder, 
louder.  The  whole  clearing  was  in  confu- 
sion with  howls,  squeals,  shouts.  Only  the 
bear  was  calm.  Determinedly  he  munched 
his  stolen  feast,  while  Tiger  flew  back  and 
forth  biting  his  heels  and  haunches,  and  be- 
tween nips,  barking  loudly  for  help.  But 
when  the  forest-robber  saw  Tom  Lincoln 
and  Abe  coming  at  full  speed  he  thought  it 
was  time  to  move  a  little,  so  he  snatched  the 
remaining  morsel  of  pork  in  his  sharp  teeth 
and  slipped  swiftly  into  the  thick  underbrush 
and  off  to  the  wilderness. 

"After  him  Tige !    After  him ! " 

Abe  beat  down  the  scrub-growth  with  his 
heavy  club.   Tiger  dived  under  the  brambles. 


88  OFT -TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


But  in  spite  of  all  the  danger  of  dog,  men  and 
guns  the  famished  bear  was  still  holding  on 
to  that  fine  piece  of  his  supper,  dragging  it 
along.  So  he  left  a  fresh  trail  for  the  dog  to 
follow. 

On  he  went  deeper  into  the  thick  forest, 
where  tall  trees  shut  out  the  sunlight,  where 
it  was  always  damp  and  cold;  down  narrow 
deer-trails  where  treacherous  sink-holes  and 
slippery  moss-covered  rocks  made  it  impos- 
sible for  the  men  to  run  very  fast.  But  Abe 
and  his  father  followed  as  close  as  they 
dared. 

"Whoop,  there!    Whoop!" 

Voices,  horses,  clinking  hoofs,  axes  clank- 
ing against  hidden  stones,  crashing  brush, 
baying  dogs, — neighbors  coming  with  a  rush. 


THE  BEAR  HUNT  89 


Tom  Sparrow,  Dennis  Hanks,  Mose  Hill 
and  another  neighbor  pushed  through  the 
heavy  shadows.  They  had  heard  the  com- 
motion and  hurried  to  the  sport,  to  the  con- 
test— for  whoever  made  the  first  mark  on 
the  bear's  hide  might  claim  the  skin.  Ea^h 
man  was  anxious  to  get  that  first  shot,  to 
brag  that  he  was  victor.  How  delighted  they 
all  were  to  be  neighborly  and  to  help  in  pun- 
ishing the  pig-thief. 

Tom  Sparrow  pushed  Abe  aside  so  he 
could  be  nearer  the  bear,  all  ready  and 
handy  for  that  first  shot  in  case  the  bear  came 
out  on  the  open  trail.  Mose  Hill  lashed  his 
horse  through  the  crowd  and  dashed  toward 
the  dense  undergrowth  where  Abe's  Tiger 
and  Tom  Sparrow's  dog,  Drum,  were  raising 
a  great  rumpus. 

Mose  Hill  called  his  own  dog,  Joe,  to  come. 
Joe,  a  little  yellow  dog  slinked  far  behind. 
But  when  his  master  called  so  sternly  Joe 
came,  crouching,  huddling  low,  trembling, 
whining,  an  object  of  great  terror.  Mose 
told  the  little  cur  to  go  into  the  brush  with 
the  other  dogs,  but  the  frightened  pup  went 


90  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

only  to  the  edge  of  the  clump  and  then  at 
some  slight  movement  of  the  huge  bear,  he 
turned  and  with  tail  between  his  legs  dashed 
off  like  a  flash,  only  a  yelping  wail  telling  the 
way  he  had  run. 

/The  men  were  laughing  at  the  little  coward 
when  suddenly  the  bear  charged  forward 
without  warning. 

"Look  out!    Everybody!" 

"Hey!    There  he  is!" 

"Abe,  get  out  of  the  way  so  I  get  first 
shot!" 

"Look  away!" 

"Let  me  get  my  gun  in  there!" 

"Everybody  out  of  my  way!" 

"Ho!" 

"Bing!     Bang!     Bing!" 

Three  rifles  barked  in  unison,  like  a  single 
shot.  But  there  was  no  sound  from  the  bear. 
Safe  and  sound  he  held  the  underbrush  fort. 

But  the  rifles  had  bothered  him  and  he 
was  ready  now  to  fight.  He  knew  the  circle 
beyond  and  the  dogs  close  at  his  heels  had 
him  cornered  in  the  thicket.  He  must  escape. 
With  lowered  head  he  battered  at  the  differ- 


THE  BEAR  HUNT  91 


ent  openings  in  the  tangled  vines.  Drum  and 
Tiger  were  always  there  to  block  the  way. 
Tiger  harried  his  heels  while  Drum  stood 
guard  at  every  passageway  and  kept  the 
great,  black  beast  from  escaping.  No  matter 
where  he  turned  it  seemed  the  dogs  were 
always  there  first,  always  in  his  path.  The 
clumsy  monster  was  in  a  frenzy,  dogs  snap- 
ping on  all  sides  and  men  outside  the  thicket 
banging  shots  at  him.  Danger  menaced 
wherever  he  went.  He  must  escape,  but 
how?  Ah,  a  good  big  hole  through  the  netted 
vines:  perhaps  escape  and  safety  lay  that 
way — 

"Bing!    Bang!!    Bing!!" 

Again  three  shots  at  once. 

The  bear  turned  in  fury  on  Drum  who 
blocked  his  way.  He  lolled  his  great  tongue 
and  rushed  with  snarling  jaws  at  the  faithful 
dog,  who  was  doing  as  his  master  had  taught 
him.  Again  Drum  pestered  the  beast.  Again 
the  bear  lowered  his  giant  head,  set  wide 
his  fangs,  and  lunged  forward.  This  time 
Drum  was  not  quick  enough  to  escape  those 
sharp,  knife-like  teeth.     The  bear  grabbed 


92  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

Drum  in  the  middle  of  the  back;  sank  his 
terrible  fangs  deep  and  shook  Drum  like  a 
tiny  rat.  Then  trampled  him  under  his 
broad  feet. 

Now  the  bear  was  ready  for  all  sorts  of 
mischief.  He  had  killed  one  enemy  and  was 
ready  to  do  the  same  with  any  other  man, 
dog  or  beast  that  got  in  his  way.  He  grunted 
in  wild  fury. 

Mose  Hill's  little  yellow  dog,  Joe,  came  up 
to  peek  at  the  scene  and  then  seeing  it  was 
still  a  dangerous  place,  again  went  yelping 
off  into  the  forest;  no  one  knew  where. 

Mose  Hill  also  was  rather  safe.  He  sat 
high  up  on  his  horse's  back  but  when  there 
was  a  chance  for  a  good  safe  shot,  Mose 
pushed  in  ahead  of  those  on  foot.  He  knew 
Tom  Lincoln  was  a  good  shot  and  he  did 
not  want  Tom  to  get  the  skin.  Now  Tom 
was  getting  up  near  a  hole  in  the  vine  net- 
ting, all  ready  for  a  good  aim  at  the  bear. 
Mose  would  not  let  that  happen.  He  lashed 
his  horse  forward.  The  horse  did  not  want 
to  go.  The  horse  knew  the  danger  as  well 
as  the  men  who  were  well  protected  with 


The  Bear  Made  a  Rush  Forward  at  the  Handicapped  Horse 

93 


THE  BEAR  HUNT  95 


loaded  guns.  But  Mose  Hill  urged  him 
harder,  harder.  He  urged  the  poor  horse 
right  into  the  thicket,  right  into  the  bear's 
lair. 

Long  vines  broke  from  the  brush  as  the 
horse  stumbled  through  and  entangled  his 
four  feet;  he  tried  to  stamp  them  off.  The 
bear  made  a  rush  forward  at  the  handi- 
capped horse,  and  bit  him.  Now  the  horse 
was  panic-stricken;  the  vines  still  twined  on 
two  of  his  feet.  He  wheeled  away  from  the 
forest-beast  but  the  bear  was  close  upon  him 
again.  The  horse  tried  to  turn,  tried  to 
run,  tried  to  back  out  of  the  thicket.  The 
bear  was  after  him  again.  The  horse  rose 
on  his  hind  feet  to  escape  the  claws.  The 
bear  followed  by  rising  up  on  his  hind  legs, 
rising  high  like  a  great,  black,  threatening 
mountain.  The  bear's  eyes  gleamed  like  fire, 
close  to  the  horse's  distended  nostrils.  His 
steely  claws  caught  at  the  flowing  mane. 

Mose  Hill  sat  high  and  safe  and  lashed 
and  lashed  the  horse  with  all  his  strength. 
He  wanted  to  escape.  He  tried  to  turn  the 
horse  around.     Just  as  the  horse  tried  to 


96  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

obey,  the  bear  lurched  toward  him  again. 
Seeing  the  deadly  claws  so  close  and  ready 
for  a  new  attack  the  horse  side-stepped  and 
then  buckled  to  avoid  the  blow,  doubled  up 
with  his  four  feet  together  and  leaped  high 
in  the  air  out  of  the  bear's  reach.  Mose  Hill 
went  right  over  the  horse's  head. 

There  he  was.  Mose  Hill  in  the  center 
of  the  bear's  den,  flat  on  his  back.  He  cried 
for  help.  The  bear  saw  him,  left  the  horse 
and  made  a  rush  toward  the  fallen  rider. 

Dennis  Hanks  running  to  shoot,  did  not 
see  a  fallen  log  and  fell  headlong  into  a  pool. 
Tom  Sparrow  was  so  close  behind  Dennis 
that  he  could  not  stop  when  Dennis  fell  and 
he  flopped  head  over  heels  on  top  of  Dennis. 
In  the  scuffle  someone's  gun  exploded. 

Meanwhile  Mose  Hill  was  calling  for  help. 
The  bear  was  upon  him.  His  heavy  claw 
held  Mose's  arm.  The  fiery  breath  of  the 
beast  scorched  Mose's  eyes. 

Tiger  who  had  been  biting  the  bear's  back 
legs  saw  all  this.  With  a  flying  leap  he 
landed  on  the  bear's  head  and  seized  the  top 
of  the  black  snout  in  his  strong  jaws.    The 


THE  BEAR  HUNT  97 


bear  shook  his  great  head  furiously  and 
reared  high  in  the  air  trying  to  shake  the  dog 
off.  Tiger  held  fast.  Mose  was  scrambling 
to  his  feet. 

Again  two  guns  rang  out,  a  little  second 
apart. 

But  the  great  black  bear  rolled  over  dead. 

Who  killed  him? 

Who  fired  the  first  shot? 

Who  would  take  the  skin? 

Those  were  the  questions. 

Tom  Sparrow  said  he  had  fired  the  killing 
shot  and  the  skin  was  his. 

Mose  Hill  said  he  thought  his  gun  went 
off  when  he  fell  from  his  horse  and  that  he 
had  made  the  first  mark  in  the  hide:  there- 
fore the  skin  was  his. 

Dennis  Hanks  said  his  gun  went  off  when 
he  flopped  over  a  log  into  a  puddle  and  that 
was  the  shot  that  wounded  the  bear  first; 
therefore  the  skin  was  his.  So  they  argued 
on: 

"It's  mine,  I  say!" 

"No,  it's  mine!" 


98  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

"No  sir,  my  shot  made  the  first  mark  on 
the  hide!" 

"No  sir,  mine  did!" 

Old  Tiger  lay  panting  and  exhausted  at 
Abe's  feet.  He  was  bleeding  from  many 
deep  wounds.  Abe  patted  his  head  and  told 
him  they  knew  the  brave  fighter. 

Abe's  father  rested  his  arms  over  the  end 
of  his  gun.  He  knew  who  fired  that  first 
shot.  He  knew  who  should  claim  the  skin. 
He  knew  whose  shot  had  saved  Mose  Hill's 
life  while  Tiger  was  holding  the  bear's  snout 
so  he  couldn't  chew  up  Mose's  face.  But 
Abe  and  his  father  never  said  a  word,  they 
only  smiled  at  each  other. 

While  the  men  were  arguing,  Joe,  the  yel- 
low dog  sneaked  back.  Slinking  between  the 
legs  of  his  master,  Mose  Hill,  he  saw  the 
bear  was  cold  and  dead.  The  danger  was 
past.  All  was  safe.  Joe  bared  his  teeth; 
growled  in  a  terrifying  voice;  hunched  up  his 
thin  shoulders  full  of  spunk  and  courage; 
then  leaped  up  on  the  dead  bear's  back; 
began  to  tear  at  the  thick  fur;  snarling  in 
rage. 


THE  BEAR  HUNT 


99 


He  showed  that  he  would  finish  that  bear; 
so  no  one  need  to  have  any  fear.  Then  he 
stood  with  his  fore-paws  upon  the  bear's  still 
head,  as  if  was  showing  how  bravely  HE  had 
won  that  skin! 


Abe  Lincoln's  First  Letter 

(Reverence  and  Religion) 

The  first  summer  at  Pigeon  Creek  was  like 
a  great,  golden  cup  filled  with  pleasant 
things.  Household  tasks  were  a  delight  be- 
cause kin  were  at  hand  to  share  and  enjoy. 
The  hunting  days  and  the  farming  hours 
were  all  happy  ones.  Abe  and  Sarah  with 
Dennis  Hanks  discovered  new  wonders  in 
the  woods  and  streams,  and  the  days  were  all 
too  short  to  hold  all  they  wanted  to  do.  But 
the  golden  cup  was  soon  empty  for  when  the 
corn  was  yellow  and  ready  for  husking,  and 
hickory  nuts  thumped  down  from  high  trees, 
sometimes  hitting  Abe  and  Sarah  on  the 
head,  and  frisky  squirrels  darted  off  with 
cheeks  crammed  full,  then,  in  that  far  off, 
tiny  settlement,  sickness  like  a  hungry  wolf 
came  and  carried  away  Tom  Sparrow,  his 
wife  Betsy,  and  then  Abe's  own  dear,  gentle 
mother. 

The    cow    which    the    Sparrow    family 

100 


ABE  LINCOLN'S  FIRST  LETTER  101 

brought  with  them  from  Kentucky  so  that 
they  might  have  fresh  milk  to  make  them 
strong  and  healthy,  brought  instead  a  ter- 
rible sickness,  for  the  cow  ate  some  poison 
weed  and  those  who  drank  the  milk  became 
"milk  sick." 

When  Nancy  Lincoln,  Abe's  mother,  fell 
ill  with  this  strange  sickness,  Abe  and  Sarah 
nursed  her  as  well  as  they  knew  how,  while 
their  father  went  off  into  the  forest  hunting 
for  food.  But  Abe  was  only  nine  years 
old  and  Sarah  eleven.  There  were  no  doc- 
tors near,  and  no  neighbors  left  to  tell  them 
what  was  best  to  do.  The  old  medicines,  such 
as  herb-tea  and  root-bitters  could  not  cure 
this  new  fever.  So,  only  the  strongest  were 
left,  the  children,  Dennis  Hanks,  and  their 
father.  The  clearing  was  a  desolate  spot 
without  the  guiding  hand  of  Nancy  Lincoln. 

Tom  Lincoln  alone  dug  the  graves  under 
the  shadow  of  a  sycamore  tree,  on  a  grassy 
knoll-top  near  the  cabin.  But  there  were  no 
preachers  at  hand  to  say  the  service,  so  the 
bodies  were  buried  in  silence.  This  was  the 
way  of  the  frontier  and  the  few  neighbors 


102  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

who  had  come  from  far-off  settlements  did 
not  miss  the  simple  comfort  of  prayer.  But 
there  was  a  larger,  greater,  fuller  spirit 
among  them,  a  little  boy,  whom  they  did  not 
understand. 

For,  Nancy  Lincoln  had  taught  this  little 
boy,  her  Abe,  the  inspiration  and  comfort 
and  necessity  of  prayer  in  daily  life.  He  had 
not  forgotten  the  lessons  she  had  instilled  as 
he  trudged  at  her  side  to  church-service  in 
those  long  ago  Kentucky  days;  the  lessons 
on  which  he  must  build  his  life. 

Now  he  stood  silent,  alone,  alone  though 
his  father  and  Sarah  were  also  crushed  with 
grief  even  as  he.  But  he  was  remembering. 
He  was  learning  responsibility.  He  was 
thinking  that  his  mother  must  not  be  buried 
without  a  prayer,  his  mother  who  had  loved 
the  prayers  and  teachings  of  the  family's 
friend,  Preacher  David  Elkin.  David  Elkin 
had  brought  the  radiance  of  God's  promise,  a 
light,  into  their  rough  home,  and  Nancy  Lin- 
coln had  tended  that  light  well. 

Now  her  boy,  Abe,  must  do  his  share.  All 
these  things  were  in  Abe's  thoughts  as  he 


ABE  LINCOLN'S  FIRST  LETTER  103 

stood  silent  at  the  grave  of  his  mother.  But 
greatest  was  the  thought  that  David  Elkin 
must  come,  must  preach  a  sermon  at  this 
sacred  spot. 

Now,  David  Elkin  was  far  off  in  Kentucky, 
off  in  the  depths  of  some  lonely  wilderness, 
far,  far  from  Pigeon  Creek.  Winter  was 
coming  fast,  snow,  blizzards  and  dangers  of 
starvation  to  a  lone  traveller.  David  Elkin, 
thought  Abe,  must  not  suffer  these  things, 
and  yet  he  must  come,  somehow  he  must 
come. 

Day  by  day  the  boy  planned.  At  last  he 
decided.  He  would  go  to  the  next  settlement 
and  ask  the  neighbors  to  let  him  know  of  any 
passing  stranger  who  might  be  going  toward 
Kentucky,  or  even  in  that  direction,  and  who 
would  take  a  letter  as  far  as  they  were  going 
and  then  pass  it  along  to  any  other  traveller 
who  might  be  going  farther  on  that  way. 

But  now,  he  thought,  how  could  he  write 
the  letter  without  paper,  without  ink,  with- 
out a  pen?  There  was  a  problem.  Then  he 
remembered  a  blank  page  at  the  front  of 
his  spelling-book.    He  would  carefully  tear 


104  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

that  out;  send  the  message  on  that.  For  ink, 
there  were  poke-berries  growing  in  the 
woods;  big  juicy  berries  would  make  thick 
ink.    A  turkey-quill  split  would  be  the  pen. 

Carefully,  carefully,  with  cramped  fingers 
carving  each  word,  so  the  letter  was  written 
on  that  precious  bit  of  paper.  It  must  be 
written  perfectly  the  very  first  time. 

At  last  it  was  on  its  way.  Then  followed 
long  days  of  waiting  for  the  answer.  Many 
times  Sarah  stopped  in  her  household  chores 
thinking  she  heard  the  thundering  hoofs  that 
might  be  bringing  David  Elkin,  the  preacher. 

Winter  passed  slowly,  spring  crept  on. 
The  black  woods  were  awakening;  the  dark 
depths  of  ravine  and  glen  a-glow,  gay  with 
fairy-trees  a-bloom.  Rough,  rocky  trails 
were  hidden  beneath  a  splendor  of  purple, 
pink,  yellow,  gold — lovely,  straying  rainbows 
caught  by  earth — and  above  the  fragrant 
flowers  flashed  myriad  songsters'  wings,  fes- 
tooning the  soft  air  with  darting  lights  of 
bright  blue,  and  scarlet  hues. 

Out  of  this  mystic  beauty  David  Elkin 
came  to  answer  the  simple  letter  from  nine- 


ABE  LINCOLN'S  FIRST  LETTER  105 

year-old  Abe  Lincoln,  came  that  the  lad's 
mother  might  be  honored  as  was  her  due. 

On  the  sacred  knoll-top,  the  neighbors 
gathered  and  in  their  midst  rose  the  gray- 
head  of  the  beloved  pastor,  David  Elkin. 
He  told  of  Nancy  Lincoln's  courage  when 
the  sharp  tooth  of  hunger  and  cold  gnawed 
her  frail  body;  he  told  of  her  gentleness,  her 
bravery  on  the  rough  frontier;  he  told  of 
her  ambition  for  her  loved  ones,  how  she 
had  taught  her  husband  and  children  to  read 
and  write,  and  trained  them  in  the  moral 
way  they  should  go.  But  more  than  all  these 
he  told  of  those  things  she  had  left  behind — 
the  example  of  a  noble  spirit,  of  a  simple, 
quiet  life  made  beautiful  by  faith  and  good 
works.  These  examples,  he  said,  must  never 
die,  but  must  live  on  forever  in  their  hearts 
and  lives.  They  must  do  even  as  she  had 
done. 

Abe  never  stirred.  Long  after  Sarah  and 
his  father  and  all  the  neighbors  had  gone,  he 
alone  stood  under  the  heavy  shade  of  the 
sycamore.     And  there  the  radiance  of  the 


106 


OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


pastor's  message,  of  his  mother's  guiding 
spirit  flowed  into  his  soul  to  light  his  way. 

It  was  a  way  of  glory  and  honor,  but  he 
never  forgot  this  boyhood  mother,  for  when 
he  stood  in  the  high  places  of  power  he  said: 

"All  that  I  am,  all  that  I  hope  to  be,  I  owe 
to  my  angel  mother." 


The  Broken  Deer  Horn 

(Truthfulness) 

Abe  was  getting  tall,  so  tall  he  could 
stretch  higher  than  any  boy  in  school.  He 
was  very  proud  of  being  tall  and  liked  to 
show  the  smaller  boys  what  stunts  he  could 
do.  So,  when  the  school-boys  teased  him, 
saying  he  could  not  even  touch  the  big  buck's 
head  that  was  nailed  over  the  school-house 
door,  Abe  was  determined  he  would  prove 
that  he  could  more  than  touch  it,  so  he 
reached  up,  grabbed  both  horns,  one  in  each 
hand,  and  swung  out,  his  feet  kicking  up  in 
the  air. 

"Snap!"    Off  came  one  of  the  horns. 

"Ha!  Ha!  Ha!"  laughed  the  boys  who 
had  teased  him  and  urged  him  on  to  the  feat. 

"Ha!  Ha!  Now  you  will  get  a  thrashing 
from  teacher!" 

Abe  was  too  frightened  to  answer  their 
jeers.  He  just  stared  and  stared  at  the 
broken  horn  in  his  hand,  wondering  what  he 
would  do  with  it. 

107 


108  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

Soon  a  crowd  had  gathered  and  most  of 
the  newcomers  joined  with  the  others  in  call- 
ing, taunting,  hooting: 

"Come  on  and  see  Abe  Lincoln!  Oh, 
won't  he  get  a  good  switching !" 

When  the  bell  rang  for  the  class  to  come 
in,  Abe  lagged  behind.  He  knew  the  teacher 
was  a  big,  strong  man  who  would  beat  him 
with  a  heavy  hand.  Every  boy  who  did 
wrong  must  take  his  whipping  like  a  man. 
There  was  no  escape. 

"Who  broke  the  horn  from  the  buck's 
head?"  asked  the  teacher  sternly. 

Every  eye  in  the  classroom  turned  to 
watch  Abe  to  learn  what  he  would  do.  The 
room  was  very  quiet.  Abe  stood  for  a 
moment  and  then  walked  up  to  the  teacher's 
desk  all  ready  to  take  his  punishment. 

"I  am  sorry,  sir,"  he  said,  "I  broke  the 
horn.  I  did  not  mean  to  do  it.  I  hung  on  it 
and  it  snapped.  I  would  not  have  done  it  if 
I  had  thought  it  would  break." 

The  apology  was  straight-forward  and 
very  honest. 

The  heavy  stick  was  ready  in  the  teacher's 


THE  BROKEN  DEER  HORN 


109 


"Who  Broke  the  Horn  from  the  Buck's  Head? 
Asked  the  Teacher  Sternly 


strong  hand.  Abe  stood  quietly  waiting  for 
the  blow  to  fall.  Instead  the  teacher  told 
Abe  to  go  to  his  seat.  Then  he  told  the  class 
he  was  glad  to  know  he  had  such  an  honest 
boy  in  his  school.  He  said  honesty  and  truth- 
fulness were  better  than  high  grades,  and 
that  Abe  Lincoln's  honesty  should  be  an  ex- 
ample to  every  boy  in  that  school. 


Abe's  Education 

(Love  of  Information) 

Abe  did  not  have  to  wait  until  summer- 
time to  have  a  vacation  from  school,  instead 
he  counted  up  the  days  until  it  was  time  to 
have  school  again,  for  in  Indiana,  so  long 
ago,  there  were  more  vacation  days  than 
days  at  school.  The  boys  and  girls  had  to 
wait  their  turn  in  having  a  teacher,  for  the 
teacher  travelled  about  from  place  to  place 
on  horse-back  and  stopped  only  a  few  weeks 
at  each  settlement.  Then  he  passed  along  to 
another  place  where  there  were  other  chil- 
dren anxious  to  learn  reading,  writing  and 
a  little  arithmetic. 

So  Abe  went  to  school  only  a  few  months 
in  his  whole  life;  but  he  made  those  few 
months  count.  He  spent  all  the  time  he 
could  spare  from  his  work  in  reading  and 
studying.  He  had  no  paper  so  he  used  a 
shovel,  a  large,  wooden  shovel,  on  which 
to  work  out  his  problems.    When  the  whole 

no 


He  Spent  All  the  Time  He  Could  Spare  From  His  Work 
in  Reading  and  Studying 


111 


ABE'S  EDUCATION  113 


shovel  was  covered  over  with  numbers  Abe 
shaved  off  the  top  layer  of  wood  with  his 
pocket-knife  and  made  a  fresh  place  to  write 
more  figures  with  a  piece  of  charcoal  he  took 
from  the  open  fire-place. 

Abe  was  not  so  fond  of  "number-work." 
He  liked  to  read  best.  There  were  very, 
very  few  books  in  his  father's  cabin  so  Abe 
borrowed  all  he  could  from  the  neighbors 
who  happened  to  have  a  book  or  two  in  their 
houses. 

Once  he  heard  that  a  neighbor,  Mr.  Craw- 
ford, who  lived  across  the  woods,  had  a  big 
book  telling  all  about  the  life  of  George 
Washington,  first  president  of  the  United 
States.  The  more  Abe  heard  about  that  fine 
book  the  more  eager  he  was  to  read  it  for 
himself.  So,  in  his  bare  feet  he  went  over 
rocks  and  stubble,  to  Mr.  Crawford's  house. 
Mr.  Crawford  was  not  very  anxious  to  lend 
the  book.  He  told  Abe  it  was  a  very  ex- 
pensive book  and  he  would  not  be  able  to 
get  another  one  like  it  very  easily.  But  after 
a  long  talk  and  after  Abe  had  promised  to  be 
very,  very  careful  and  to  see  that  nothing 


114  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

happened  to  the  book,  Mr.  Crawford  said 
he  might  have  it  just  over  night.  So  Abe 
went  off  holding  his  precious  book  under  his 
arm.  He  planned  to  finish  it  as  he  sat  before 
the  fire-place  that  night.  Then,  he  said  to 
himself,  he  would  take  it  back  to  Mr.  Craw- 
ford the  first  thing  in  the  morning. 

However  something  happened  and  Abe 
was  a  very  sorry  boy  when  he  woke  up  in 
the  morning. 

But  now  he  was  happy  with  the  book 
under  his  arm.  He  read  bits  of  it  as  he 
hurried  home.  He  read  of  the  many  battles 
in  which  Washington  fought.  He  read  about 
the  cherry  tree  that  Washington  chopped 
down  when  he  was  a  very  little  boy.  By 
that  time  he  had  reached  home  and  his 
father  called  him  to  help  with  the  work. 
Abe  could  scarcely  wait  for  "candle-lighting- 
time,"  but  finally  it  came,  and  then  Abe  was 
back  in  the  Revolutionary  days  with  his 
hero,  Washington. 

The  night  wore  on,  the  candle  sputtered 
and  sputtered  in  its  holder,  getting  smaller 
and  smaller,  still  Abe  read  on.    He  was  at 


ABE'S  EDUCATION  115 


a  thrilling  part  now;  he  was  reading  of 
Washington  crossing  the  Delaware.  The 
British  were  everywhere,  their  sentinels 
guarding  the  river-banks.  Washington  was 
creeping  up,  creeping  up  quietly  trying  to 
take  them  by  surprise.  As  the  frail,  little 
boats  battled  across  the  river,  the  winter 
winds  blew  great  sheets  of  sleet  and  snow, 
which  froze  the  rowers'  fingers  and  nipped 
the  ears  of  the  soldiers.  Also,  great  chunks 
of  ice  crashed  against  the  sides  of  the  small 
boats  and  the  men  expected  to  be  upset  at 
any  moment.  Ice,  cold,  dangers,  enemies 
on  all  sides  threatened  the  great  General  of 
the  American  Revolution.  Abe  wondered 
if  he  would  ever  get  over  alive — just  then  the 
very  last  tip  of  the  candle  burned  out — Abe 
was  left  in  the  blackness  of  the  loft,  far  away 
from  the  scarlet  coats  of  the  British,  far 
away  from  the  noble  Washington,  alone  in 
his  pile  of  dry  leaves,  in  the  loft  of  the 
log-cabin. 

The  house  was  very  still.  All  the  folks 
were  asleep,  had  been  asleep  for  many 
hours.    Abe  dared  not  go  downstairs,  down 


116  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

the  steep  pegs  in  the  wall,  to  put  the  book 
away  in  the  big  box  below.  He  dared  not 
waken  the  family. 

He  felt  around  in  the  darkness  for  a  safe 
place  to  put  the  book.  The  only  place  he 
could  find  was  a  big  chink  between  the  logs 
in  the  wall  at  the  side  of  his  bed.  Ah,  thought 
Abe,  the  book  will  be  handy.  In  the  morn- 
ing I  can  read  before  anyone  is  up.  Care- 
fully he  slipped  the  book  in  the  hole.  Just 
before  going  off  to  sleep  he  ran  his  fingers 
gently  over  the  back  to  make  sure  that  it  was 
safe.  Then  he  drew  his  deer-skin  blanket 
close  around  him  and  fell  asleep.  He  was 
very  tired  for  he  had  worked  hard  all  day 
in  the  fields,  earning  money  for  his  father. 

Soon  after  the  lad  went  off  to  sleep,  it 
began  to  rain.  All  night  the  rain  poured 
down.  In  the  early  morning,  Abe  was  awak- 
ened, not  by  the  bright  morning  sunlight,  but 
instead  by  the  steady  beat  of  the  rain  splash- 
ing through  the  chinks  of  the  roof  onto  the 
loft-floor.  His  first  thought  was  the  book! 
Too  late!  All  night  long  the  rain  had  beat 
into  the  hole  between  the  logs  where  the 


Thus  Abe  Earned  the  Book  He  Loved  So  Well 
117 


ABE'S  EDUCATION  119 


book  had  been  hidden.  Now  the  book  was  a 
soaking,  sodden  mess.  Mud-plaster  streaked 
the  pages.  The  back  and  cover  were  loose, 
the  rain  had  melted  the  glue.  Every  bit  of 
color  was  washed  off  the  cover.  Ruined! 
Abe  sat  very  still,  the  ugly  mass  crumpled 
in  his  big  strong  hands.  He  could  not  think 
what  to  do.  It  did  not  seem  possible  that 
the  beautiful  book  that  he  loved  could  be 
ruined  so  soon.  What  could  he  say  to  Mr. 
Crawford  to  whom  he  had  promised  such 
care  of  his  book?  Again,  and  again  Abe 
looked  over  the  book  to  see  if  he  could  not 
repair  the  damage,  but  he  could  not  even 
think.  For  every  part  was  dimmed,  only 
the  name,  "Weems's  Life  of  Washington," 
stood  out  clear  and  unstained.  No,  the  ruin 
was  done.  The  book  could  not  be  mended. 
Abe  thought  how  furious  Mr.  Crawford 
would  be.  He  remembered  how  careful  this 
neighbor  was  of  his  possessions,  and  he  had 
said  the  book  was  very,  very  valuable. 

It  would  be  a  hard  task  to  tell  Mr.  Craw- 
ford about  his  book,  but  immediately  after 
he  had  brought  in  the  wood  for  the  break- 


120  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

fast  fire,  Abe  went  over  to  explain  to  his 
neighbor,  and  to  say  that  he  would  mend 
matters  in  any  way  that  Mr.  Crawford 
would  suggest. 

"Well,"  said  Mr.  Crawford,  "seeing  that 
you  are  really  so  very  sorry  Abe,  and  see- 
ing it  is  you,  I  won't  be  hard  on  you.  Come 
over  and  shuck  corn  for  three  days  and  the 
book  is  yours." 

Thus  Abe  earned  the  book  he  loved  so 
well.  The  book  which  might  inspire  any 
boy  to  dreams  of  being  master  of  the  White 
House. 


"God's  Creatures,  Great  and  Small" 

(Defender  of  the  Weak) 

Dennis  Hanks  was  torturing  a  turtle.  He 
put  a  live  coal  on  the  turtle's  back  and  then 
called  the  other  boys  at  school  to  come  and 
watch  the  poor  creature  squirm  in  pain  and 
suffering.  Dennis  and  the  boys  thought  it 
great  fun  to  do  such  tricks,  and  were  laugh- 
ing in  high  glee. 

Hearing  the  laughter  as  he  came  across 
the  fields  Abe  hurried  to  join  in  the  sport, 
but  when  he  drew  near  enough  to  see  the 
turtle  and  knew  what  all  the  noise  was  about, 
he  took  Dennis  by  the  collar  and  was  ready 
to  fight.  The  boys  were  all  on  his  cousin's 
side.  They  did  not  see  any  harm  in  hurting 
the  wild  creatures  of  the  wood,  and  they  all 
jumped  in  together  to  give  Abe  a  thrashing 
for  taking  the  burning  coal  from  the  turtle's 
shell.  They  said  he  had  stopped  their  fun 
and  now  they  would  watch  him  squirm  as 
they  punished  him. 

121 


122  OFT -TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

But  Abe  was  equal  to  such  encounters; 
his  muscles  were  strong  and  firm  from  hard 
work  in  the  fields  and  forest,  and  he  soon 
mastered  the  rough  crowd.  Then  as  the 
group  sat  down  to  rest,  Abe  got  up  on  a 
stump  in  front  of  the  school-house,  just  as  he 
had  seen  the  travelling  preachers  do  when 
they  came  to  the  settlement,  and  he  made  a 
speech  about  the  cruelty  of  such  tricks.  He 
showed  the  boys  that  no  good  results  could 
come  from  cruel  sport. 

At  first  the  boys  laughed  at  him  and  called 
him  a  "goody-goody"  preacher.  One  boy 
who  wanted  to  show  Abe  that  he  didn't  care, 
got  another  turtle  and  threw  it  violently 
against  the  stump  where  Abe  was  standing. 
The  poor  crushed  creature  tried  to  crawl 
away  but  could  not. 

Very  quietly  Abe  got  down  from  his 
preaching  stump,  picked  up  the  broken  mass 
of  shell  and  flesh  and  showed  the  boys  how 
it  was  quivering  all  over,  just  as  one  of  them 
might  do  when  he  had  cut  his  own  flesh,  just 
as  one  might  do  when  he  had  crushed  his  toe 
with  a  heavy  stone.     After  Abe  had  said 


"GOD'S  CREATURES,  GREAT  AND  SMALL"  123 

these  things  the  boys  were  more  solemn  and 
thoughtful.  They  did  not  jeer  at  Abe  now 
and  began  to  wonder  if  turtles  and  little  mice 
and  dogs  and  all  the  animals  they  had  tor- 
mented were  really  able  to  suffer  as  a  hurt 
toe,  or  cut  finger. 

Once  Abe  himself  had  used  a  gun.  It  was 
when  he  was  nine  years  old.  There  was  no 
food  in  the  house.  His  father  had  gone  off 
on  a  long  trip.  Days  went  swiftly.  Gold 
weather  came.  Sarah,  Abe  and  Dennis  were 
left  alone  in  the  cabin,  far  from  any  neigh- 
bors. There  were  a  few  potatoes  and 
turnips  and  some  corn,  but  as  the  days 
grew  colder  the  supply  grew  smaller,  and 
the  appetites  larger.  Sarah  made  the  corn 
into  corn-dodgers,  and  baked  them  on  the 
hot  stones  around  the  big  out-door  fire,  but 
she  saw  the  supply  was  fast  disappearing 
and  urged  Abe  to  go  down  to  the  deer-lick, 
where  the  deer  came  for  salt  each  night,  and 
to  bring  home  a  deer  as  his  father  often  had 
done. 

"For,  you  know  Abe,"  said  the  little 
mother,  "you  can  easily  shoot  a  deer  there, 


124  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

from  the  top  of  the  slope.  When  they  come 
down  the  ravine  to  lick  up  the  salt  you  pick 
out  a  big,  fat  one  just  as  Father  always  did 
and  then  shoot  quick!  You  cannot  miss  it; 
Father  never  missed." 

So,  that  evening,  when  the  long  shadows 
brought  the  timid  deer  from  all  parts  of  the 
deep  forest  to  the  shallow  pools  of  salty 
water  in  the  glen,  Sarah  and  Abe  hid  in 
the  brush,  up  on  the  brink  of  the  ravine,  and 
watched  them  come.  Abe  held  his  gun  high, 
ready  for  action.  He  steadied  it  against  a 
tree  and  held  his  breath. 

"There,  there!"  whispered  Sarah,  nudg- 
ing her  brother's  arm.  A  big  buck  with  far 
spreading  horns  stood  apart  from  the  feed- 
ing herd.  He  was  in  a  direct  line  from  Abe's 
aimed  gun.  But  Abe  did  not  shoot.  He  was 
watching  a  mother  deer  with  her  fawn.  The 
mother  was  suspicious:  she  turned  her  head 
to  right  and  to  left  sniffing  the  air  for  danger. 
Her  keen  senses  told  her  that  the  shadows 
were  not  empty.  Where  were  those  dusky 
shadows  that  would  bring  harm  to  her  baby? 
Up  went  her  proud  head.    She  called  alarm 


'GODS  CREATURES,  GREAT  AND  SMALL"  125 


in  a  honking  snort  and  was  off!  Like  flash- 
ing lights  in  a  rushing  wind,  the  whole  herd 
followed  her. 

Abe's  gun  now  thundered  through  the 
sleeping  forest  depths,  but  only  a  bent  twig 
and  swaying  grasses  told  of  the  shadow- 
flight. 

"Now,  Abe  Lincoln,  you  look  here!" 
scolded  Sarah  severely,  "you  did  not  try  to 
shoot  until  after  they  had  gone.  And  we 
must  get  something  to  eat.  You  will  have 
to  set  father's  traps  in  the  morning,  if  you 
are  afraid  to  shoot!  If  you  don't  do  that, 
we  shall  starve!" 

Abe  dragged  along  at  Sarah's  side  but  said 
nothing.  He  was  ready  to  do  his  share,  and 
he  must  not  have  Sarah  think  that  he  was 
afraid  to  shoot.  So  next  morning  when 
Sarah  called  him  just  as  the  sun  was  peep- 
ing over  the  pointed  pines  on  the  horizon, 
he  jumped  up  eagerly,  ready  to  prove  that 
he  was  no  coward.  Sarah  had  the  gun  in 
her  hands  all  ready  loaded.  She  whispered: 
a  flock  of  wild  turkeys  was  just  outside  the 
cabin  door. 


126  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

"Don't  make  a  sound,"  warned  Sarah,  and 
pointed  to  a  crack  between  the  logs  through 
which  Abe  might  push  the  end  of  the  gun. 

Abe  stooped  low  and  peeked  out  at  the 
beautiful  bronze  birds  as  they  flashed  red, 
purple,  and  gold  in  the  morning  light. 

"Now,  Abe,  don't  you  wait  too  long  again," 
urged  Sarah.  "Now,  shoot  now,  they  are 
right  up  at  the  door!    You  cannot  miss!" 

The  big  birds  never  looked  up.  The  flock 
knew  no  danger.  Hungrily  they  picked  here 
and  there,  a  grub,  a  seed,  a  bit  of  corn- 
dodger, and  sometimes  even  a  bit  of  corn. 
The  baby  poulets  followed  their  mother  and 
ran  quickly  at  her  call  when  she  found  some 
choice  morsel. 

"Quick!  Abe!  You  coward!  Shoot! 
Three  close  together,  you  can  kill  two  at 
once!"  Sarah  was  very  angry  and  her 
voice  commanded. 

"Bang!  Bang!"  A  little  puff  of  blue 
smoke  came  out  from  the  slit  in  the  cabin- 
wall. 

The  large  flock  rose  like  a  dark  cloud  and 
disappeared  into  the  gloomy  forest,  scream- 


•GOD'S  CREATURES,  GREAT  AND  SMALL' 


127 


Hungrily  They  Picked  Here  and  There 


ing  out  in  fear,  so  that  the  whole  forest-folk 
took  fright  and  fled  before  them. 

Sarah  ran  outside.  All  but  one  had  flown 
away.  Sarah  was  proud  of  her  smaller 
brother.  Abe  came  out  and  stood  beside 
her. 

The  golden-bronze  turkey  fluttered  as  the 
children  came  near.  He  fluffed  his  wings 
and  tried  to  escape  this  new  danger,  he  tried 
to  rise.    He  strained  to  be  off  with  the  rest 


128  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

of  the  flock.  He  could  not.  His  lovely 
feathers  were  ruffled  and  stained. 

"Abe,  that  was  a  fine  shot!"  Sarah  was 
glad  to  encourage  and  praise  her  brother 
now  that  the  anxiety  of  getting  food  was 
over.  "I  will  make  a  good  dinner,  just  as 
Mother  used  to  make  us  when  she  was  here. 
And,  Abe,  you  are  going  to  be  a  fine  hunter, 
just  like  Father,  when  you  get  a  little  bigger." 

Abe  was  not  listening.  He  was  still  look- 
ing down  at  the  quivering  bird. 

Now  the  beautiful  turkey  was  very  still. 
Abe  knelt  down  and  brushed  the  stained 
plumage,  stroked  it  softly,  oh,  ever  so  softly. 

Sarah  stood  near.  She  said,  "You  are 
smart,  Abe!" 

Abe  did  not  look  up  but  keeping  his  head 
down  and  his  eyes  on  the  dead  turkey, 
answered,  "He  will  never  fly  again  in  the 
lovely  forest,  out  in  the  beautiful  sunlight 
either,  Sarah." 

"Abe  Lincoln!  What  do  you  mean? 
Aren't  you  glad!" 

"No,"  said  Abe  in  a  very  low,  sad  voice, 
"and  I  will  never  kill  another." 


GOD'S  CREATURES,  GREAT  AND  SMALL" 


129 


He  never  did.  For,  when  he  was  a  great 
man  and  had  many  things  to  do  away  off  in 
a  large  city,  he  remembered  this  day  in  the 
cabin  near  the  forest  and  told  about  it, 
adding  that  he  never  shot  another  thing  in 
his  whole  life. 


Abe  at  Mischief 

(Love  of  Fun) 

Although  Abe  attended  school  for  so  short 
a  time,  he  was  usually  at  the  head  of  his 
class  in  spelling.  Also  he  was  one  of  the  best 
writers.  He  wrote  so  well  that  one  boy  in  a 
higher  class  asked  Abe  to  write  some  lines 
in  his  book  so  that  he  might  practice  writing 
and  so  learn  to  write  like  Abe.  So  Abe 
wrote  these  lines  for  the  big  boy: 

"Good  boys  who  to  their  books  apply, 
Will  all  be  great  men  by  and  by." 

Whenever  there  was  a  spelling-match  in 
school,  the  boys  made  Abe  the  captain  of 
their  side.  He  was  a  winner.  But  one  day 
Abe  was  not  at  school  when  they  had  a 
spelling-match.  He  had  to  stay  at  home  to 
help  his  father  with  the  work,  but  during  the 
day  his  father  sent  him  on  an  errand  and 
Abe  had  to  pass  the  school.  While  passing 
he  heard  the  boys'  voices:  they  were  spell- 
ing.    He  heard  a  boy  spell  "defied."    The 

130 


ABE  AT  MISCHIEF 


131 


Abe  Stood  Listening 


boy  spelled  it  wrong.  Then  Abe  neard  a 
little  girl's  voice  trying  to  spell  it.  She  was 
saying,  "d-e-f-."  She  stopped.  She  did  not 
know  the  next  letter.  She  tried  again: 
"d-e-f-."  She  waited  a  while  to  think.  She 
did  not  know  whether  to  say,  "def  Yed"  or  to 
say,  "def/ed."  She  stopped  and  started  and 
stumbled  each  time. 


132 


OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


Abe  stood  listening.  He  was  sorry  for  the 
little  girl.  He  jumped  up  on  a  rock  which 
was  under  the  side  window.  The  little  girl 
who  was  spelling  saw  him.  She  started  again 
to  spell  the  word,  "d-e-f-."  Abe  pointed  to  his 
eye,  and  dropped  out  of  sight. 

"Def/ed,"  spelled  the  little  girl  and  won 
the  match  for  the  girls'  side. 


Abe's  Own  Dollar 

(Thrift) 

Abe's  father  always  got  the  twenty-five 
cents  a  day  that  Abe  earned  at  the  Craw- 
ford farm,  hard  earned  by  splitting  rails 
for  fences,  shucking  corn,  plowing  the  fields, 
grinding  meal  with  a  hand-mill,  carrying 
water,  and  doing  all  chores  which  must  be 
done  around  a  farm. 

But  now  Abe  was  eighteen  years  old.  He 
decided  to  make  a  boat  for  himself  and  to 
take  a  long  trip  down  the  Mississippi  River 
to  New  Orleans  with  a  cargo  of  farm 
products,  which  he  would  sell  in  the  South. 

While  Abe  was  testing  his  flatboat  on  the 
Ohio  River  two  men  came  down  to  the  land- 
ing in  a  carriage  and  after  looking  over 
all  the  boats  tied  there  asked: 

"Who  owns  this  boat?" 

"I  do,"  said  Abe,  very  pleased  to  see  that 
the  boat  which  he  had  made  himself  was 
selected  from  all  the  boats  at  the  landing. 

133 


134  OFT -TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

"Will  you  take  us  and  our  trunks  over  to 
the  river-steamer?"  asked  one  of  the  men. 

"Certainly,"  answered  Abe,  glad  of  the 
chance  to  try  out  his  new  boat  with  a  cargo, 
and  thinking  also  of  the  ten-cents  he  might 
earn. 

Quickly,  he  piled  the  trunks  onto  his  flat- 
boat.  The  men  sat  down  on  the  trunks 
and  were  sculled  out  to  the  big  boat  which 
was  waiting  for  them  in  the  middle  of  the 
river.  Abe  put  their  trunks  on  the  high 
deck,  and  the  men  scrambled  aboard,  all 
ready  to  go.  Then  Abe  stood  at  the  side 
of  his  boat  close  alongside  the  steamer,  wait- 
ing for  his  pay.  The  men  began  talking  and 
did  not  notice  him.  The  captain  put  on 
steam  and  was  about  to  start  when  Abe 
called  out,  "You  forgot  to  pay  me!" 

Each  of  the  men  threw  a  silver  half- 
dollar  onto  the  flatboat.  The  steamer 
chugged  off,  leaving  a  long,  wide,  white, 
foamy  path  behind  it,  and  a  very  surprised 
boy. 

"One  dollar!"  thought  Abe.    "One  dollar! 


The  Men  Were  Sculled  Out  to  the  Big  Boat  Which  Was 
Waiting  for  Them 


135 


ABE'S  OWN  DOLLAR 


137 


Is  it  possible  for  a  poor  boy  to  earn  one  dollar 
for  honest  work  in  less  than  a  day?" 

Abe  began  to  see  bigger  possibilities  in  the 
future. 


Abe  a  Salesman 

(Ambition) 

Tom  Lincoln,  Abe's  father,  heard  great 
tales  of  the  new  settlements  in  Illinois,  and 
of  the  fine  soil  there  for  farming.  He  made 
up  his  mind  he  would  move  there  and  try 
his  luck  in  a  new  place.  So  there  was  great 
excitement  in  the  Lincoln  cabin,  and  bustling 
preparation  for  the  long  journey  to  the  new 
state. 

What  a  different  journey  it  was  to  be  from 
the  hard  trip  Abe  and  Sarah  and  their  own 
dear  mother  had  made  when  they  came 
from  Kentucky  into  Indiana.  Now,  both 
Sarah  and  Abe's  mother  were  dead.  Abe 
had  a  step-mother,  a  very  good  step-mother 
to  be  sure,  and  step-sisters  and  step-brothers. 
The  step-sisters  were  married  and  they  were 
to  go  with  their  husbands  in  the  big  covered 
wagon  that  held  the  furniture,  beds  and 
household  fittings.  Two  yokes  of  oxen  would 
draw   the   wagon,    and   many   hands   were 

138 


ABE  A  SALESMAN 


139 


A  be  Had  Worked  for  a  While  in  Gentryville 


there  to  help  should  the  heavy  wheels  sink 
into  ruts  and  gullies.  Each  one  was  planning 
for  his  own  comfort. 

Abe,  who  had  worked  for  a  while  in  Jones' 
store  in  Gentryville,  a  village  near  their 
cabin,  decided  to  be  a  salesman  along  the 
road.  He  spent  all  the  money  he  had  (about 
thirty  dollars)  to  buy  a  stock  of  needles, 
pins,  thread,  buttons,  and  one  set  of  knives 
and  forks. 


HO OFT -TO  LP  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

Either  Abe  was  a  very  good  peddler,  or 
the  pioneers,  scattered  in  tiny  clearings  in 
the  forest  depths  and  on  wide  lonely  prairies, 
were  glad  to  have  real  buttons  instead  of  bits 
of  stone,  and  pins  instead  of  sharp  thorns. 
But  whatever  the  real  cause,  whether  Abe's 
fine  salesmanship  or  the  need  of  the  people, 
Abe  did  well,  for  when  he  reach  Decatur, 
Illinois,  their  new  home,  he  counted  his 
money  and  found  that  he  had  doubled  the 
amount  spent,  he  now  had  sixty  dollars! 

Although  the  trip  took  two  weeks,  Abe  did 
not  find  it  full  of  thrills  as  he  and  Sarah  and 
his  mother  had  found  the  journey  from 
Kentucky.  Abe  remembered  how  he  and 
Sarah  had  laughed  in  great  glee  when  they 
found  a  whole  pail  of  milk  churned  into  a 
pail  of  butter,  churned  by  the  bumping  and 
jostling  of  the  wagon  over  the  rough  trails. 

But  there  was  one  incident  on  the  trip  into 
Illinois  that  all  remembered. 

Abe  had  a  yellow  dog  in  Indiana.  Of 
course  the  pet  could  not  be  left  behind  when 
the  family  moved  to  the  prairie-land,  so 
Abe's  father  said  that  the  dog  could   trot 


ABE  A  SALESMAN  141 


on  close  behind  the  wagon,  and  go  with  them 
if  he  would  not  be  any  trouble.  Thus,  all 
day  the  little  fellow  tagged  on,  watching 
Abe  and  keeping  close  at  Abe's  heels  when 
it  was  Abe's  turn  to  walk  alongside  the  oxen 
and  keep  them  in  the  narrow  wagon-rut. 

All  went  well  until  one  day  the  dog  stayed 
behind  to  dig  into  a  hole  he  had  discovered 
at  the  side  of  the  trail.  He  wanted  to  find 
out  what  was  at  the  botom  of  that  hole,  for 
the  deeper  he  dug  the  more  interesting  it 
seemed.  He  sniffed  and  sniffed  and  tossed 
the  dirt  high  in  the  air  as  he  plunged  deeper 
and  deeper  down  the  hole  that  held  a  dog's- 
treasure.  He  became  so  engrossed  in  the 
hunt  that  he  did  not  notice  the  wagon  had 
gone  far,  far  ahead.  When  he  stopped 
digging  for  a  moment  to  rest,  and  to  get  a 
new  scent,  he  could  hear  no  sound.  He  was 
left  behind.  With  all  his  might  he  ran,  ran 
as  fast  as  his  legs  could  go,  and  soon  he  came 
to  a  rushing  river.  The  river  was  filled  with 
great  chunks  of  bouncing,  crashing  ice. 

How  could  he  get  over?  The  ice  was 
tossing    so   high   a   little   dog   never   could 


142 


OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


He  Barked  Louder,  Louder 


jump  from  floe  to  floe.  He  could  hear  his 
master's  voice  far  off  down  the  trail  on  the 
other  side  of  all  this  wide  icy,  rushing  river. 
The  dog  jumped  in  and  tried  to  swim,  but 
the  sharp  edges  of  the  ice  cut  him  and  drove 
him  back.  He  did  not  know  what  to  do. 
Was  he  to  be  left  in  the  wild  woods?  Would 
they  desert  him?  He  stood  alone  on  the 
cold  bank,  his  tail  between  his  legs,  his 
whole  body  trembling  with  fear  and  cold. 
He  dared  not  try  the  river  again,  it  was  so 
icy,  so  very  cold,  the  jagged  edges  so  sharp. 


ABE  A  SALESMAN  143 


He  ran  up  and  down  the  bank  in  a  frenzy, 
crying,  barking,  whining,  fearing.  The 
voices  were  getting  so  far  away.  Perhaps  his 
master  had  forgotten  all  about  the  little  dog. 

He  barked  louder,  louder.  He  heard  a 
footstep  trampling  brush,  crunching  against 
the  frozen  ground.  Abe's  voice  calling. 
At  last  Abe  and  his  father  stood  on  the  oppo- 
site bank.  Abe  called  for  his  dog  to  come 
over,  but  the  dog  was  afraid.  He  only  stood 
and  howled. 

"Oh,  let  the  thing  stay  there,  if  he  had  not 
enough  sense  to  stay  with  us,  let  him  freeze 
in  the  woods,"  said  Abe's  step-brother. 

"Yes,  that  is  right!"  agreed  Abe's  father, 
"let  him  come  over  quick  or  else  go  off 
wild  in  the  woods.  We  have  no  time  to  fool 
with  a  pup.  There  are  lots  of  dogs  we  can 
get." 

"Yes,  yes,"  urged  the  step-brother,  "let 
us  be  off.  Leave  the  beast  there,  if  he  won't 
come." 


But  Abe  would  not  go  and  leave  the  dog 
to  suffer  and  die  in  the  forests.  He  sat  down 
on  the  hard  snow  and  pulled  off  his  shoes 


144  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

and  heavy  socks.    Then  he  waded  into  the 
ice  and  freezing  water. 

He  said,  "I  could  not  endure  the  idea  of 
abandoning  even  a  dog."  Back  across  the 
stream  he  went,  the  sharp  ice  cutting  his 
bare  legs,  but  the  shivering  dog  safe  under 
his  arm.  When  Abe  dropped  the  little  fellow 
on  the  right  side  he  was  overcome  with  joy 
and  relief.  He  jumped  and  barked  and 
licked  Abe's  bare  feet  and  legs,  and  tried  to 
say  how  happy  and  grateful  he  was,  so  Abe 
felt  fully  repaid  for  the  cold  he  himself  had 
endured  to  save,  even  a  tiny  dog. 


Abe  a  Man 

(Independence) 

As  soon  as  the  family  reached  Illinois 
Abe  took  up  his  share  of  the  work.  He 
helped  his  father  and  John  Hanks,  a  kins- 
man, build  the  new  log-house  near  the  Sanga- 
mon River.  He  helped  split  the  walnut  rails 
to  inclose  the  fifteen  acres  of  ground  they 
claimed.  He  helped  plow  those  fifteen  acres. 
When  he  saw  his  father  nicely  settled  he 
told  him  that  now  he  was  a  man  he  must  go 
out  to  work  for  himself. 

But  first  he  must  have  clothes  for  he  was 
ragged  and  tattered  and  looked  more  like  a 
scare-crow  than  a  young  man  ready  to  go 
out  into  the  world  to  earn  his  own  way. 
Abe  had  heard  of  a  neighbor  who  had  sheep 
and  a  fine  loom.  He  asked  her  to  spin  and 
weave  a  suit  for  him,  so  they  made  a  bargain, 
which  was  not  a  very  easy  one  for  Abe.  Abe 
was  to  split  four  hundred  rails  for  each  yard 
of  material  the  woman  made  for  his  trousers. 

145 


146  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

The  material  must  be  of  wool,  dyed  with 
walnut  bark  to  a  deep  brown  shade,  and  the 
woman  must  weave  enough  to  fit  Abe  well. 
Ah!  How  many  times  while  Abe  was  split- 
ting those  logs  did  he  wish  that  he  were  a 
little  bit  of  a  short  fellow  instead  of  "long- 
legs  ! "  But  those  "long-legs"  must  be  covered 
and  before  Abe  had  got  enough  yards  of 
"brown  jean"  to  cover  them,  he  had  to  split 
one  thousand  four  hundred  rails! 

Now  the  trousers  were  finished  and  Abe 
was  ready  for  a  real  job.  Mr.  Offutt,  a  store- 
keeper in  the  village,  had  heard  of  Abe's 
trip  down  to  New  Orleans  on  his  flatboat, 
and  he  asked  Abe  to  take  a  load  down  South 
for  him.  First  Abe  had  to  make  the  boat,  so 
he  called  his  cousin,  and  together  they 
worked  on  it,  and  in  a  few  weeks  were  ready 
for  the  long,  dangerous  trip.  Abe's  step- 
brother, John  Johnston,  John  Hanks,  and 
Abe  himself  set  out. 

All  went  well  until  they  reached  a  dam  at 
New  Salem;  here  the  boat  stuck  and  hung 
half  in  the  air  and  half  in  the  water,  just 
above  the  dam.    For  a  whole  day  and  night 


ABE  A  MAN  147 


the  boat  toppled  this  way  and  that,  half  in 
the  air,  half  in  the  water. 

All  the  while  Abe  was  studying  various 
plans,  at  the  same  time  worrying  about  the 
barrels  of  pork,  the  corn  and  the  hogs  which 
were  in  his  charge.  Finally  he  had  puzzled 
out  a  scheme  he  wanted  to  try,  it  was  an 
idea  all  his  own,  and  he  did  not  say  much 
about  it  until  he  was  ready  to  try  it  out.  First 
he  moved  all  his  cargo  onto  another  boat, 
then  he  got  on  his  own  flatboat,  bored  a  hole 
in  the  end  that  stuck  out  in  the  air  over  the 
dam;  tipped  up  the  other  end  so  that  the 
water  would  all  run  to  the  end  that  was 
half-over  the  dam,  and  as  the  water  gradu- 
ally balanced  the  broad  boat  it  slid  safely 
over  the  dam  and  was  safe. 

A  bunch  of  idlers  had  been  sitting  on  the 
shore  watching  Abe  at  work.  At  first  they 
poked  fun  at  his  "nonsense"  but  as  the  boat 
began  to  float,  their  jeers  turned  to  praise 
and  when  at  last  it  floated  gracefully  over  the 
rapids  they  gave  forth  a  loud  and  hearty 
cheer.    They  told  each  other  that  it  took  a 


148  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

smart  boy  to  think  of  saving  a  boat  and 
cargo  in  that  way. 

After  reaching  New  Orleans  and  selling 
the  cargo  as  Mr.  Offutt  had  told  him  to  do, 
Abe  suggested  to  John  Hanks  and  his  step- 
brother, that  they  take  a  walk  around  the 
place.  Abe  had  always  been  anxious  to  see 
New  Orleans  since  the  trip  he  had  made 
several  years  before,  for  at  the  time  he  had 
come  with  Mr.  Gentry's  cargo  he  had  to 
hurry  right  back  home. 

Now  Abe  had  spare  time,  so  the  three 
young  men  set  out  on  a  trip  up  and  down  the 
strange  streets  of  the  southern  city.  At  the 
end  of  one  street  they  saw  a  crowd  of  people 
moving  about  and  heard  a  man's  harsh  voice 
calling  out,  "Going  for  $300!" 

"Going  for  $300!" 

"Going  for  $300!    Who  will  bid  more?" 

They  had  come  to  a  slave-market.  Mothers 
and  children,  grandfathers  and  old  women 
were  all  in  chains,  huddled  in  groups, 
crowded  together  like  cattle.  They  were 
being  sold,  as  cows  and  horses  were  sold  up 


"D  DDD 
CGD3  D 
DCDD  D 

offi 


iffiillBiiffliiEfi 


They  Had  Come  to  a  Slave  Market 
149 


ABE  A  MAN 


151 


in  Illinois,  but  they  were  not  treated  as 
kindly  as  some  owners  treated  their  horses. 

Abe  stood  at  one  side  of  the  market-place 
and  watched  an  owner  whip  a  slave;  he  saw 
another  buyer  pinch  a  woman's  flesh  to  find 
how  firm  it  was;  he  saw  them  make  a  sick 
colored  girl  run  up  and  down,  across  an 
open  court  to  test  her  strength;  he  saw  many 
other  cruel  sights  that  filled  him  with  dis- 
gust for  such  auction-places.  He  felt  a  deep 
pity  for  the  whole  colored  race  that  had 
been  made  to  slave  for  the  harsh  white-man. 

Turning  to  his  step-brother  Abe  said,  "Let 
us  get  away  from  this.  If  ever  I  get  a  chance 
to  hit  that  thing  (meaning  slavery)  I  will  hit 
it  hard!" 

Many  years  later  he  did,  "hit  it  hard;"  he 
freed  every  slave  in  the  country. 


Abe  Knows  Success 

The  new  Orleans  trip  was  so  successful 
that  Mr.  Offutt  made  Abe  a  clerk  in  his  store, 
and  it  was  here  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
earned  the  name  of  "Honest  Abe." 

One  day  Abe  sold  a  woman  a  pound  of 
tea.  It  was  near  closing-time  and  Abe  was 
anxious  to  get  to  his  room  that  he  might  read 
the  books  he  had  borrowed.  He  did  not 
notice  a  four-ounce  weight  on  the  scales 
where  he  had  weighed  the  tea,  until  the 
next  morning.  However,  as  soon  as  he  did 
see  it  he  knew  he  must  have  given  the  woman 
four-ounces  short  weight.  Before  opening 
the  store  for  the  day,  he  went  many  miles  to 
deliver  the  tiny  package  of  tea  that  belonged 
to  the  woman. 

At  another  time  he  walked  three  miles 
with  six  cents,  to  correct  a  mistake  in  change 
which  he  had  made  that  day. 

Of  course  such  honesty  made  Abe  very 

152 


■v^ 


J*£L 


iA^  JL 


-_ — 


//#  Went  Many  Miles  to  Deliver  the  Package  of  Tea 

153 


ABE  KNOWS  SUCCESS  155 

popular  with  Mr.  Offutt's  customers,  but 
Abe  was  now  twenty-two  years  old  and 
began  to  have  higher  ambitions  than  clerk- 
ing in  a  little  country-store.  He  liked  to 
make  speeches,  just  as  he  did  about  the 
burned  turtle,  when  he  was  a  lad.  Now  he 
thought  perhaps  some  day  he  might  become 
a  lawyer.  His  friends  discouraged  that  idea 
and  urged  him  to  try  politics  for  a  while. 
Abe  was  about  to  follow  that  advice  when 
the  Black  Hawk  War  broke  out  and  he  was 
sent  north  to  serve  his  country  by  helping  to 
settle  the  affair  at  the  border  where  the  Sac 
and  Fox  Indians  were  giving  trouble. 

Now  "Honest  Abe,"  "the  rail-splitter,,, 
became  "Captain  Lincoln"  and  had  charge 
of  a  band  of  soldiers. 

One  day  while  Captain  Lincoln  was  in 
his  tent  he  heard  angry  voices  and  loud, 
rough  shouts  nearby.  He  found  an  old 
Indian,  feeble  and  weak  from  hunger  and 
from  a  long,  hard  tramp,  being  handled 
cruelly  by  his  soldiers. 

"He's  a  spy!  He's  a  spy!  Hang  him. 
Shoot  him."   The  rough  men  were  shouting 


156  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

and  pushing  the  old  Indian  toward  a  large 
tree  from  which  a  long  rope  dangled. 

The  Indian  was  pleading  with  them,  beg- 
ging for  mercy,  saying,  "No,  no,  Poor  Injun 
is  white  man's  friend !" 

"No  sir!"  yelled  the  blood-thirsty  soldiers, 
"He's  a  spy!  He  may  even  be  old  Black 
Hawk  himself!" 

"Yes,  he  may  be  Black  Hawk  himself!" 
shouted  the  others. 

"Hang  him!  Shoot  him!  He  killed  lots  of 
white  men  on  the  border!  Come  on  fellows, 
let  us  take  his  scalp!" 

The  frightened  captive  drew  a  letter  from 
his  belt  and  begged  them  to  look  at  it,  saying 
to  them: 

"See  this  paper  from  big,  white  chief.  Old 
Injun  white  man's  friend." 

But  the  soldiers  would  not  look  at  the 
paper,  they  grabbed  the  poor  old  man  and 
pulled  him  roughly  toward  the  tree. 

Just  then  Lincoln  came  out  of  his  tent. 

"What  is  all  this  noise  about?"  he  asked. 
"Stand  back  all  of  you.  Aren't  you  ashamed 
of  yourselves?    All  of  you  piling  on  one,  poor 


ABE  KNOWS  SUCCESS  157 

old  redskin !  Would  you  kill  an  unprotected 
old  man?" 

The  trembling  Indian  crouched  at  Lin- 
coln's feet. 

One  bold  soldier  stepped  up  to  Lincoln 
and  made  a  move  to  snatch  the  Indian  away, 
in  spite  of  the  Captain. 

"What  are  you  afraid  of?  Are  you  afraid 
to  string  him  up?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,"  said  another,  "that's  right,  are  you 
afraid  to  string  him  up?  Let  us  have  him, 
we  will  do  it,  and  do  it  quick!" 

"Yes,"  demanded  another  pointing  his 
rifle  at  Lincoln's  head,  "let  us  have  him!" 

Captain  Lincoln  looked  down  at  the  gun 
that  was  ready  to  kill  him,  and  went  closer 
to  the  burly  man  who  held  it. 

"Afraid?"  Lincoln  asked.  "Afraid?  I 
will  fight  anyone  of  you,  but  you  won't 
touch  this  old  Indian!  When  a  man  comes 
to  me  for  help  he  is  going  to  get  it,  if  I  have 
to  lick  all  Sangamon  County!" 

Captain  Lincoln  faced  them  all,  unafraid. 
They  all  knew  this  young  captain  was  ready 
to  do  as  he  said.    Not  a  soldier  moved. 


158 


OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


Lincoln  read  tHe  paper  the  Indian  offered 
and  found  he  was  truly  a  friendly  Indian  who 
had  been  sent  from  another  Division  of  the 
American  Army. 

After  this  incident  Captain  Lincoln  had 
the  full  and  hearty  respect  of  his  men  for 
they  saw  that  he  was  willing  to  risk  even  his 
life  for  the  principle  he  thought  right. 


Many  Trades 

When  the  Black  Hawk  War  was  over, 
Lincoln  bought  a  store  and  took  a  partner, 
so  the  store  was  known  as  "Lincoln  and 
Berry's  store."  There  were  not  many  cus- 
tomers and  the  store  was  not  a  success  but 
Lincoln  did  not  waste  his  time,  for  while 
things  were  going  slowly  he  found  time  to 
read  and  study.  He  was  postmaster  and 
read  all  the  newspapers  as  he  carried  them  to 
the  farmers.  His  mail-pouch  was  his  high 
hat  and  it  was  plenty  large  enough  to  carry 
all  the  letters  received  in  the  little  village. 

During  this  time  there  was  one  book  which 
Lincoln  read  and  re-read.  He  got  the  book 
by  accident  in  an  unusual  way.  He  did  not 
even  know  he  was  buying  it.  It  happened 
this  way;  one  day  while  trade  was  dull,  a 
covered  wagon  drove  up,  and  the  driver,  who 
was  taking  his  family  out  West,  to  settle  in 
the  new  country  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Mississippi  River,   asked  the   store-keeper 

159 


160 


OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


The  Lincoln  and  Berry  Store 

if  he  would  buy  a  barrel  that  was  taking  up 
too  much  room  in  the  wagon.  Lincoln  gave 
the  man  fifty  cents  for  the  barrel  but  did 
not  have  any  curiosity  as  to  what  was  in 
it,  so  it  was  pushed  up  into  a  corner  and 
stayed  there  until  one  day  Lincoln  was 
cleaning  up. 

He  dumped  the  barrel  upside  down  and 
there  in  the  bottom  found  a  law-book.  It 
was  to  him  like  finding  a  golden  treasure. 
He  read  it  so  often  that  he  almost  knew  it 


MANY  TRADES 


161 


by  heart.  Then  he  made  up  his  mind  that 
he  wanted  to  be  a  lawyer,  but  he  had  several 
other  trades  before  he  did  finally  reach  that 
goal. 

One  of  the  trades  he  liked  best  was  that 
of  surveyor.  He  liked  to  go  into  the  woods 
to  measure  property;  he  liked  reckoning  and 
calculating  where  a  stake  should  be  placed. 
He  did  this  work  so  well  that  he  was  offered 
better  things  to  do. 

But  the  folks  who  knew  him  best  insisted 
that  he  help  make  the  laws  of  the  state  for 
them  at  the  State  Capital,  so  after  Lincoln 
had  studied  law  and  entered  into  practice 
with  Major  Stuart  at  Springfield,  he  did  turn 
to  those  things  in  real  earnest. 


The  Springfield  Lawyer 

While  a  lawyer  in  Springfield,  Illinois, 
Lincoln  had  several  noted  cases  but  the  folks 
there  were  more  impressed  by  his  human 
qualities.  They  remembered  best  his  love  of 
fun  and  his  kindness  to  the  weak. 

Lawyer  Lincoln  was  ready  always  for  a 
joke.  One  day  he  insisted  before  a  judge 
who  was  a  good  horse-trader,  that  he,  young 
Lincoln,  could  make  a  better  trade  than  the 
famous  old  judge  who  had  traded  many, 
many  horses  and  never  got  the  worst  of  a 
bargain. 

They  promised  to  make  a  trade  to  prove 
the  point,  at  nine  o'clock  next  morning. 
Neither  was  to  see  the  horses  before  that 
time.  Each  must  stick  to  his  bargain  and 
take  the  "trade"  or  pay  twenty-five  dollars. 

Before  nine  next  morning,  the  judge  came 
dragging  a  delapidated  horse,  starved,  every 
rib  showing,  limpy  in  all  four  legs,  "blind  as 
a  bat"  and  altogether  not  worth  a  cent.    Cer- 

162 


Springfield  in  the  Days  of  Lincoln 
163 


THE  SPRINGFIELD  LAWYER  165 

tainly,  thought  the  crowd  which  had  come  to 
see  the  fun,  certainly  Abe  Lincoln  would  get 
the  worst  of  this  bargain  for  he  would  not  be 
able  to  find  a  more  useless  horse  in  the  whole 
country  round. 

Just  then  Lawyer  Lincoln  came  up.  He 
was  carrying  his  horse.  He  had  a  wooden 
saw-horse  slung  over  his  broad  shoulders. 

Gales  of  laughter  greeted  him,  and  loud 
applause  broke  from  the  crowd.  Lincoln 
turned  to  the  judge's  horse,  looked  him  up 
and  down;  dropped  his  own  saw-horse  in 
front  of  the  judge  and  said: 

"Well,  Judge,  this  is  the  first  time  I  ever 
got  the  worst  of  it  in  a  horse  trade." 

There  is  another  tale  of  Lincoln's  days  in 
Springfield,  at  the  time  the  lawyers  went 
from  county  to  county  with  the  "circuit 
court,"  days  when  mire  and  deep  mud-holes 
blocked  the  prairie  trails  and  men  rode  on 
horseback  from  town  to  town.  Abe  and 
"the  circuit  judge"  and  other  lawyers  were 
riding  along  one  of  these  roads  when  they 
found  a  pig  stuck  deep  in  the  middle  of  the 
way.    The  poor  animal  was  squealing  and 


166  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

struggling,  but  the  more  he  struggled  the 
deeper  he  sank  in  the  puddle.  Lincoln  said 
they  ought  to  pull  the  animal  out,  but  the 
other  men  only  laughed  at  him  and  said  they 
could  not  get  their  clothes  ruined  with  a  fat, 
old  pig. 

They  went  along  on  their  way,  laughing  at 
the  unfortunate  beast  in  his  mud  prison.  But 
Lincoln  did  not  join  in  the  laughter,  he  grew 
more  quiet  as  they  got  farther  away  from  the 
struggling  animal.  At  last  he  could  go  no 
more,  he  had  to  turn  and  ride  back  to  the 
pig.  He  pryed  it  loose  with  some  fence  rails, 
and  put  the  pig  on  a  dry  spot  where  it  was 
able  to  take  care  of  itself.  Then,  and  only 
then,  was  Lincoln's  mind  content,  and  he 
galloped  back  to  join  the  legal  party. 


Congressman  Lincoln 

When  Abraham  Lincoln  was  thirty-three 
years  old  he  married  Mary  Todd.  Six  years 
later  he  was  elected  to  Congress.  His  experi- 
ence in  the  Legislature  of  Illinois  for  three 
terms  served  him  well  in  Washington,  and  he 
was  ready  to  propose  bills  which  would  help 
the  country,  just  as  he  had  helped  Illinois 
while  he  was  serving  that  State.  However 
one  bill  which  Lincoln  proposed  was  strongly 
opposed:  a  bill  for  the  abolition  of  the  slave- 
trade  in  the  city  of  Washington.  But  this 
first  failure  to  "hit  slavery  hard"  did  not 
discourage  Lincoln  and  he  kept  up  his  anti- 
slavery  talks  and  speeches  after  he  had 
served  his  term  in  Congress  and  returned  to 
his  law-practice  in  Springfield. 

Some  of  his  most  important  speeches  were 
made  when  he  debated  with  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  on  the  slavery  question.  For  Doug- 
las said  that  each  State  should  have  slaves 
if  it  wanted  them:  Lincoln  declared  that  "all 

167 


168  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


Mary  Todd  Lincoln 

men  are  created  equal"  and  should  have 
equal  liberty. 

The  people  of  Illinois  were  much  pleased 
with  the  speeches  Abraham  Lincoln  made 
and  when  they  went  home  they  said  to  their 
neighbors: 

"This  Abraham  Lincoln  is  right.  Of  course 
there  must  be  no  slaves.  Lincoln  would 
make  a  fine  president!  We  need  a  president 
who  will  see  that  we  have  no  slaves!" 

So  in  1860,  Abraham  Lincoln  was  elected 
President  of  the  United  States. 

But  Lincoln  was  a  "Republican,"  and  the 
Republicans  did  not  believe  in  slavery  nor 
did  they  believe  that  any  state  could  do  as  it 
pleased.  So  when  Abraham  Lincoln  was 
elected  and  the  Southerners  thought  their 
slaves  were  to  be  taken  away  from  them  by 


CONGRESSMAN  LINCOLN 


169 


Lincoln's  Office  at  Springfield 


a  "Black  Republican,"  they  held  a  meeting 
and  declared  they  would  not  be  part  of  the 
United  States  but  would  have  a  nation  of 
their  own. 

They  called  this  new  nation,  "The  Con- 
federate States  of  America,"  and  chose  Jef- 
ferson Davis  as  their  own  president.  They 
demanded  all  the  forts  and  guns  that  were 
in  the  South  and  made  preparations  for  war. 

Lincoln    told    the    Southerners    that    the 


170  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

United  States  would  not  fight  unless  the 
South  forced  them  to  do  so,  but  the  proud  and 
angry  Southerners  were  ready  for  action  and 
in  April,  of  1861,  they  fired  on  Fort  Sumter 
in  Charleston  harbor,  and  opened  the  ter- 
rible Civil  War  which  lasted  for  four  long 
years.  The  Northerners  fought  to  save  the 
Union  and  to  free  the  slaves:  the  South- 
erners fought  to  prove  they  could  have  a 
government  of  their  own  if  they  wanted  one, 
and  to  have  and  sell  slaves  as  they  wished. 

President  Lincoln  said: 

*7/  /  could  save  the  Union  without  freeing 
any  slave,  I  would  do  it.  If  I  could  save  it 
by  freeing  all  the  slaves,  I  would  do  it.  If 
I  could  save  it  by  freeing  some  and  leaving 
others  alone,  I  would  also  do  that." 

But  he  saw  later,  that  he  would  have  to 
free  the  slaves.  However,  he  tried  first  to 
pay  the  South  for  any  slaves  which  might 
be  freed.  But  this  plan  did  not  meet  with 
favor,  and  so  in  January,  1863,  he  declared 
that  all  slaves  in  all  States  then  in  rebel- 
lion should  be  free. 


The  Civil  War 

During  the  long,  heart-breaking  days  of 
the  Civil  War  many  people  in  the  country 
were  without  food  enough  to  nourish  them. 
In  almost  every  home,  parents,  sisters,  chil- 
dren were  waiting  for  the  war  to  end  so  that 
their  dear  ones  might  come  home  again.  In 
the  South  crops  were  destroyed  and  homes 
burned  down,  and  the  suffering  was  even 
greater  than  that  in  the  North. 

Parents,  children,  sisters  were  anxious  for 
the  war  to  be  over,  but  all  during  the  terrible 
years  Abraham  Lincoln  was  as  anxious  as 
the  weary,  waiting  mothers.  He  did  all  he 
could  to  prevent  the  war  and  all  that  he 
could  to  bring  it  to  a  close  once  it  had  started, 
but  those  who  should  have  been  his  greatest 
aids  failed  him. 

He  sent  generals  into  the  South  who  did 
not  know  what  should  have  been  done.  Gen- 
eral McGlellan  was  sent  to  march  against 
that  great,  southern  general,  Robert  E.  Lee, 

171 


172  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

but  instead  the  northern  general  waited 
quietly  until  Lee's  army  had  passed  by  to 
safety,  and  then  he  had  to  follow  the 
Southern  Army  to  Antietam.  Finally  when 
the  two  armies,  Northern  and  Southern,  did 
meet  there  was  a  victory  for  the  North,  but 
not  until  many  brave  soldiers  had  been  lost 
on  both  sides. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  did  not 
blame  the  generals  for  such  failures.  They 
blamed  such  things  on  the  President  for  not 
putting  the  generals  in  the  right  places. 
Abraham  Lincoln  bore  all  this  cruel,  unjust 
criticism  without  a  word.  He  had  done  his 
best.  He  was  doing  his  best  day  by  day. 
He  continued  to  go  into  the  camps,  to  talk 
to  the  soldiers  and  to  encourage  the 
leaders. 

With  all  the  heavy,  pressing  duties  he  had 
in  the  White  House,  he  still  found  time  to  do 
gentle  and  kindly  deeds  for  others  who  were 
in  sorrow  or  trouble.  He  heard  that  a 
mother,  Mrs.  Bixby,  in  Boston  had  lost  five 
sons  in  the  war:  he  wrote  her  a  beautiful, 
comforting  letter.   And  many  a  lad's  life  was 


He  Continued  to  Go  Into  the  Camps  to  Talk  to  the  Soldiers 

173 


174  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

saved  because  of  Lincoln's  great  heart.  He 
was  always  merciful,  even  when  others 
called  it  "neglect  of  duty." 

Many  times  the  Secretary  of  War,  a  stern 
man,  brought  papers  for  President  Lincoln's 
signature.  Some  of  these  told  of  soldiers 
failing  in  duty  on  the  battle-field,  others  told 
of  young  soldiers  running  away  from  the 
death-booming  cannon.  These  soldiers  must 
be  punished.  The  Secretary  would  demand 
that  these  soldiers  be  shot.  But  Lincoln 
usually  found  a  better  method  of  punishment. 
He  did  not  want  his  boys  to  be  shot  and 
marked  with  disgrace.  He  saved  them  when- 
ever he  could. 

One  day  the  President  heard  of  a  lad  who 
was  to  be  shot  for  being  asleep  at  his  sentinel- 
post.  The  boy  had  been  placed  where  he 
could  watch  the  enemy  and  give  the  alarm 
if  any  spy  should  try  to  creep  through  the 
lines.  But  he  did  not  watch.  He  fell  asleep 
at  his  post  of  duty;  the  enemy  might  have 
over-run  the  whole  camp,  he  would  not  have 
known. 

The  General  ordered  that  the  boy  be  shot. 


THE  CIVIL  WAR  175 


He  was  placed  in  the  prison-camp  to  await 
his  terrible  punishment. 

When  President  Lincoln  heard  of  this,  he 
went  to  the  camp  to  see  him. 

"William  Scott,"  the  President  asked  the 
young  prisoner,  "why  did  you  do  it?" 

The  boy  told  how  he  had  marched  with  the 
army  all  day  long,  a  long,  long  march,  and 
then  when  night  came,  a  friend  of  his  who 
had  been  assigned  to  sentry-duty  was  sick  and 
could  not  do  it.  William  offered  to  do  his 
work  for  him,  but  he  was  so  worn  out  and 
weary  that  he  could  not  keep  awake. 

The  President  talked  to  the  boy  about  his 
Vermont  home,  about  his  mother,  his  school, 
and  the  old  farm;  about  many  other  pleasant, 
far-away  things.  William  Scott  would  have 
been  very  happy  talking  about  these  bright 
memories  of  home,  if  he  could  have  forgotten 
the  present.  But  his  thoughts  were  leaping 
ahead  to  the  next  day's  sunrise  when  he 
would  be  called  out  to  stand  up  before  many 
guns  to  be  shot;  to  die. 

As  Lincoln  was  leaving  the  prison-tent  he 
turned  to  the  boy  and  said: 


176  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

"My  lad,  you  are  not  going  to  be  shot  to- 
morrow. I  believe  you  when  you  tell  me 
that  you  could  not  keep  awake.  I  am  going  to 
trust  you  and  send  you  back  to  the  regiment. 
But  I  have  been  put  to  a  great  deal  of  trouble 
on  your  account.  I  have  had  to  come  here 
from  Washington  when  I  had  a  great  deal  to 
do.  Now,  what  I  want  to  know  is:  how  are 
you  going  to  pay  my  bill?" 

The  boy  looked  up  at  the  great  President 
with  wide  staring  eyes.  He  could  scarcely 
believe  the  news — his  life  was  to  be  spared! 
But,  how  could  anyone  get  enough  money  to 
pay  the  President  of  the  United  States? 
William  Scott  did  not  know  how  to  answer. 
Finally  he  blurted  out  that  he  guessed  maybe 
the  other  boys  would  club  together  to  gather 
five  or  six  hundred  dollars. 

But  the  great,  kind,  tender-souled  Presi- 
dent shook  his  head.  He  put  his  large,  gentle 
hands  on  the  lad's  shoulders. 

"William,"  he  said,  "my  bill  is  a  very  large 
one.  Your  friends  cannot  pay  it,  nor  your 
bounty,  nor  the  farm,  nor  all  your  comrades. 
There  is  only  one  man  in  all  the  world  who 


THE  CIVIL  WAR  177 


can  pay  it,  and  his  name  is  William  Scott!  If 
from  this  day  William  Scott  does  his  duty,  so 
that  when  he  comes  to  die,  he  can  look  me  in 
the  face,  as  he  does  now  and  say,  'I  have 
kept  my  promise  and  I  have  done  my  duty 
as  a  soldier/  then  my  debt  will  be  paid.  Will 
you  make  that  promise  and  keep  it?" 

William  gave  his  promise.  When  he  was 
dying,  after  being  shot  months  later,  in  the 
Battle  of  the  Peninsula,  he  said: 

"Boys,  I  have  tried  to  do  the  right  thing! 
If  any  of  you  have  the  chance,  I  wish  you 
would  tell  President  Lincoln  that  I  have 
never  forgotten  the  kinds  words  he  said  to 
me  at  the  Chain  Bridge:  that  I  have  tried  to 
be  a  good  soldier  and  true  to  the  flag.  Thank 
him  because  he  gave  me  the  chance  to  fall 
like  a  soldier  in  battle  and  not  like  a  coward 
at  the  hands  of  my  comrades." 


"With  Malice  Toward  None" 

When  the  Northerners  were  shouting, 
"Free  the  slaves!  Free  the  slaves!"  and 
demanding  that  President  Lincoln  abolish 
slavery  at  once,  he  tried  to  explain  that  it 
was  not  yet  time  for  such  a  measure.  He 
told  the  people  that  slaves  could  not  then 
be  freed  as  slavery  was  still  lawful  in  the 
South.  But  they  still  clamored  for  action, 
urging  him  to  issue  an  "Emancipation 
Proclamation."  Then  he  showed  them  how 
foolish  this  would  be  at  a  time  when  southern 
generals  were  winning  all  the  battles.  Lin- 
coln could  always  see  both  sides  of  a  ques- 
tion, and  so  he  could  appreciate  the  southern 
viewpoint. 

But  although  his  thoughts  for  the  South 
were  kind,  the  South  and  Confederates  hated 
this  great  war-weary  man.  They  thought  of 
Lincoln  as  an  ugly  giant  who  wanted  to  take 
their  homes,  their  slaves  away,  and  they 
considered  slaves  as  we  think  of  horses  and 

178 


WITH  MALICE  TOWARD  NONE' 


179 


Lincoln  Told  the  Dying  Boy  He  Was  Mistaken 
About  the  Yankees 


cows,  cats  and  dogs.  It  was  only  after  the 
war  was  over  that  the  Southerners  learned 
how  wrong  they  had  been  in  judging  Lincoln 
so  harshly.  But  one  southern  family  learned 
of  his  kindness  during  the  war.  They  knew 
how  kind  he  could  be  because  he  was  kind  to 
their  own  southern  boy. 

One  day  the  President  was  going  through 
the  camp.     He  saw  this  little  southern  boy 


180  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

being  carried  by  on  a  stretcher.  The  poor 
lad  was  wounded;  he  was  calling  for  his 
mother.  He  was  dying.  Lincoln's  gentle 
heart  was  filled  with  pity  and  grief.  He 
stooped  over  the  stretcher  and  asked  softly: 

"What  can  I  do  for  you,  my  poor  child?" 

"Oh,  you  will  do  nothing  for  me,"  the  boy 
answered,  "you  are  a  Yankee.  A  Yankee 
will  do  nothing  for  me,  a  southern  boy.  I 
can  not  hope  my  message  to  my  mother  will 
ever  reach  her." 

Lincoln  told  the  dying  boy  that  he  was 
mistaken  about  the  Yankees.  He  stayed 
and  talked  soothingly,  gently,  stroking  the 
boy's  hot  brow,  caressing  his  hands,  trying 
to  comfort.  At  last  the  sick  boy  knew  the 
Great  Soul  at  his  side  and  he  told  the  Presi- 
dent those  last,  sad  things  that  he  wanted 
his  mother  to  know — his  goodbye  message. 

That  night,  Abraham  Lincoln  sent  a  sol- 
dier carrying  a  flag  of  truce  over  into  the 
enemies  lines.  The  southern  boy's  mother 
received  her  son's  last  message. 


Gettysburg  Speech 

In  July,  1863,  the  Northern  generals  were 
victorious  at  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg,  and 
the  hope  of  the  Northerners  and  of  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  was  revived.  But  many  men 
fell  on  that  battle-field,  so  many  that  the 
state  of  Pennsylvania  offered  a  tract  of 
ground  as  a  great  cemetery. 

Edward  Everett,  known  throughout  the 
country  as  a  wonderful  orator  came  from 
Massachusetts  to  make  the  main  speech. 
President  Lincoln  was  to  make  a  very 
short  speech  of  dedication.  Edward  Ever- 
ett's address  was  carefully  prepared  and  per- 
fectly given.  The  people  listened  quietly 
for  two  hours  to  the  great  orator.  Lincoln 
spoke  but  a  few  minutes.  The  speech  of 
Edward  Everett  has  been  forgotten,  but  the 
Gettysburg  Speech  of  Abraham  Lincoln  will 
live  forever.  School-boys  and  girls  will 
memorize  it  as  a  perfect  piece  of  English 
composition,  perfect  in  its  simplicity,  in  its 

181 


182  OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

pure  English  diction,  perfect  in  its  sincere 
appeal.  Here  are  Lincoln's  words  on  that 
memorable  day: 

"Four  score  and  seven  years  ago  our 
fathers  brought  forth  upon  this  continent  a 
new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty  and  dedi- 
cated to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are 
created  equal.  Now  we  are  engaged  in  a 
great  civil  war,  testing  whether  that  nation 
or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated 
can  long  endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great 
battle-field  of  that  war.  We  are  met  to 
dedicate  a  portion  of  it  as  the  final  resting- 
place  of  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that 
that  nation  might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting 
and  proper  that  we  should  do  this. 

"But  in  a  larger  sense  we  cannot  dedicate, 
we  cannot  consecrate,  we  cannot  hallow  this 
ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead, 
who  struggled  here  have  consecrated  it  far 
above  our  power  to  add  or  detract.  The 
world  will  little  note  nor  long  remember 
what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget 
what  they  did  here.    It  is  for  us,  the  living, 


'Four  Score  and  Seven  Years  Ago  Our  Father  s- 

183 


184 OFT -TO  LP  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 

rather  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished 
work  that  they  have  thus  far  so  nobly  carried 
on.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated 
to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us,  that 
from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased 
devotion  to  that  cause  for  which  they  here 
gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion;  that 
we  here  highly  resolve  that  the  dead  shall 
not  have  died  in  vain;  that  this  nation  shall, 
under  God,  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom; 
and  that  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people,  and  for  the  people  shall  not  perish 
from  the  earth." 


A  Second  Term 

Try  as  hard  as  he  might  to  do  the  right 
thing,  Abraham  Lincoln  could  not  please  all 
of  the  Northerners.  But  after  his  first  term 
as  President  of  the  United  States  was  fin- 
ished; after  his  four  long,  anxious  years  were 
done,  they  again  made  him  their  leader  for 
another  four  years.  Perhaps  they  took  his 
homely  advice  and  did  not  want  to  "change 
horses  in  the  middle  of  the  stream."  But 
whatever  the  reason,  he  began  his  second 
term  as  President  in  the  same  kindly,  wise 
way  that  he  had  begun  his  first  term.  For 
in  his  second  inaugural  address  he  showed 
the  same  wisdom,  the  same  justice,  the  same 
great  understanding  of  his  country,  the  same 
sympathy  for  the  suffering  Southerners.  We 
see  some  of  this  in  his  words: 

"With  malice  toward  none;  with  charity 
for  all;  with  firmness  in  the  right,  as  God 
gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to 

185 


186 


OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


Typical  Scene  During  the  Campaign  for 
Lincoln's  Re-election 


finish  the  work  we  are  in;  to  bind  up  the 
nation  s  wounds;  to  care  for  him  who  shall 
have  borne  the  battle,  and  for  his  widow 
and  his  orphan  .  .  .  to  do  all  which  may 
achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  lasting  peace 
among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations." 

That  long  awaited  peace  of  which  he 
spoke  in  this  inaugural  address  came  in 
April,    1865,   when   the   great   Confederate 


A  SECOND  TERM 


187 


General,  Robert  E.  Lee,  surrendered  to  the 
equally  fine  northern  General,  U.  S.  Grant. 
The  Civil  War  was  over.  But  not  the  hatred 
of  some  Southerners  for  the  noble  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  Abraham  Lincoln. 


The  Martyr 

When  Abraham  Lincoln  was  coming  to 
Washington  from  the  West,  to  take  charge 
of  the  Nation's  affairs,  the  southern  hatred 
was  already  beginning  to  take  form  in  ter- 
rible action,  for  a  plot  was  discovered  in 
which  a  band  of  southern  men  planned  to 
kill  him  as  he  passed  through  Baltimore. 
This  unreasonable  hatred  grew  more  intense 
as  time  passed,  and  when  the  Confederates 
lost  the  war,  the  hatred  smoldered  like  a 
treacherous  fire-brand,  breaking  into  a  blaz- 
ing torch  of  evil  in  the  heart  of  John  Wilkes 
Booth. 

John  Wilkes  Booth  murdered  President 
Abraham  Lincoln  in  Ford's  Theatre. 

No  one  saw  the  terrible  shadow  on  the 
wall  as  John  Wilkes  Booth,  an  actor,  slipped 
with  his  deadly  weapon  into  the  theatre-box 
where  the  President,  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  two 
guests  were  sitting.  No  one  heard  the 
stealthy  step  behind,  sneaking  forward.  All 
was  peace. 

188 


THE  MARTYR  189 


The  shot  rang  out! 

The  murderer  leaped  from  the  box  to  the 
stage,  catching  his  foot  in  a  flag  and  falling. 
But  he  quickly  regained  his  balance  and 
cried  out: 

"Sic  semper  tyrannis!"  ("Thus  always 
with  tyrants.") 

The  President  was  fatally  wounded,  shot 
in  the  head.    The  assassin  escaped. 

Kind  hands  carried  the  Martyr  to  a  nearby 
house.    He  died  the  next  morning. 

The  great-hearted  Abraham  Lincoln's 
work  was  over. 

The  country  was  filled  with  grief.  Men, 
women  and  children  knew  him  better  now. 
They  felt  that  a  personal  friend  had  gone. 
Now,  better  than  ever  before,  they  under- 
stood his  friendly  spirit;  they  knew  now  of 
his  courage;  of  his  lonely  struggles;  of  his 
noble  battle  in  the  darkness  of  war  when 
God  was  his  Chief  Confidant;  now  too  they 
could  look  back  over  the  years  and  appre- 
ciate the  early  life  of  poverty,  in  Indiana 
and  Illinois;  his  boyish  dreams,  ideals  and 
aspirations  which  no  one  encouraged,  no  one 


190 


OFT-TOLD  TALES  OF  LINCOLN 


L 


The  House  In  Which  Lincoln  Died 


there  understood;  his  unquenchable  ambi- 
tion for  knowledge  against  crushing  circum- 
stances; now — ah,  so  late! — they  saw  the 
strength  of  his  gentleness,  the  sublime  height 
of  his  understanding,  the  calm,  seer-like  wis- 
dom of  his  leadership.  He  had  given  the 
best  of  his  heart,  his  head  and  his  hands — 
for  his  United  States. 

But  his  work  is  not  done,  for  as  the  years 
go,  his  fame  grows;  his  "soul  goes  marching 
on"  into  every  country  of  the  world;  and  to 
the  north,  the  south,  the  east,  the  west,  the 
whole  world  over,  the  name  Abraham 
Lincoln  is  honored  and  beloved. 


MM & 


S 


^\W^^V^A. 


